Free massless particles and extended space-time algebra

Abstract

We study the space-time invariances of the relativistic particle action for both the massive and massless cases. While the massive action has only the invariances associated to the Poincare algebra, we find that the invariances of the massless action give rise to the conformal algebra in four dimensions. For the free massless particle, a new invariance of the action permits the construction of an extension of the conformal algebra. The conclusion is that two distinct symmetry breaking mechanisms are necessary to arrive at the Poincare algebra.