We argue that a spontaneous breakdown of local Weyl invariance offers a mechanism in which gravitational interactions contribute to the generation of particle masses and their electric charge. The theory is formulated in terms of a spacetime geometry whose natural connection has both dynamic torsion and non-metricity. Its structure illuminates the role of dynamic scales used to determine measurable aspects of particle interactions and it predicts an additional neutral vector boson with electroweak properties.
Symmetry breaking forms a cornerstone in the phenomenology of fundamental particle interactions. It was shown here for the first time that certain quanta can acquire gravitational mass by a breakdown of spacetime conformal symmetry, thereby releasing the role of the Higgs effect from purely ""internal"" symmetries. RAE_import_type : Journal article RAE_uoa_type : Physics
