# Physical Symmetry and Electrical Asymmetry under the Composite Hadron Model

Mark Pickrell

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Mark Pickrell. Physical Symmetry and Electrical Asymmetry under the Composite Hadron Model. 2025. hal-05171414

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# Physical Symmetry and Electrical Asymmetry under the Composite Hadron Model: Is there a correlation in the simplest nuclei between the Strong Force and mass?

Mark Pickrell<fnref n="1" />,<fnref n="2" />*

**Abstract:** A model for a composite matter/antimatter hadron structure has been indicated experimentally. This model, denominated the Composite Hadron Model, provides a reasonable explanation for a number of current and significant unexplained phenomena in physics, including: the apparent matter/antimatter asymmetry in the Universe, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, the nature of beta decay (both B+ and B-), and (potentially) the generation of non-Higgs mass in nuclei. In this article, it is conjectured that the Strong Force binding the electrical forces within the simplest nuclei (hydrogen nuclei, deuterons, and helium nuclei), at current estimates of the sizes for these structures, will be approximately equivalent to the known masses of these nuclei. Further mathematical work to evaluate this conjecture is called for.

**Keywords:** Antimatter; hadrons; Strong Force; mass generation; (Non-) Higgs mechanism.

## 1. Introduction

A composite matter/antimatter hadron structure has recently been proposed by the author[1]. Experimental evidence for this model, denominated the Composite Hadron Model, is described in the prior article, along with other currently unexplained observations that are reasonably explained by this model. In addition, some of the major cosmological implications of the Composite Hadron Model are discussed in the prior article.

One of the interesting aspects of the Composite Hadron Model is the physical symmetry of the simplest (and most stable) nuclei in the model: hydrogen nuclei, deuterons, and helium nuclei. Because the electrical asymmetry of these configurations is well-known, it is conjectured that the force necessary to hold these symmetric configurations in stable structures (i.e., the Strong Force), in sizes that have been estimated experimentally, will be equivalent to the known masses of these nuclei (based on the conversion ratio of $E=mc^2$). Further mathematical work to evaluate this conjecture is called for.

<footnote n="1">¹ Albireo Scientific Corporation; mark.pickrell@albireoscientific.net</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Vanderbilt University; mark.pickrell@vanderbilt.edu</footnote>

<footnote>* Correspondence: mark.pickrell@pickrell.net</footnote>
## 2. Materials and Methods

As will be discussed more fully below, the Composite Hadron Model, including its most simplified version, is the result of a direct application of the Scientific Method. The experimental work in this analysis has been done by others and is described in their published works (or, in the case of Dr. Alexander Henderson, his doctoral dissertation available from Rice University).

Beginning with the observation, by Hui Chen, and others working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, that high-intensity lasers generate "large quantities" of electron/positron pairs (which, importantly, can be easily separated magnetically)[2], it was hypothesized that the nuclei of matter as we know it can exist as combinations of quarks and antiquarks, along with positrons[1]. This hypothesis is testable experimentally (i.e., satisfies Popper falsifiability) by determining whether the targets in high-intensity laser experiments transmutate. As it turns out, Alexander Henderson, while a graduate student at Rice University conducting experiments at the Texas Petawatt Laser Facility (at the University of Texas), demonstrated the transmutation of targets in high-intensity laser experiments[3]. Dr. Henderson's observations indicate that the Composite Hadron Model is correct.

Other experimental observations -- specifically, Chamberlain and Segrè's Bevatron observation of the effects of an antiproton colliding with a proton[4], along with observations at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN regarding tetraquark and pentaquark configurations[5][6] -- led to the hypothesis that, instead of quark triads under the Gell-Mann (and Zweig) quark model, protons and neutrons appear to be matter/antimatter tetraquark and pentaquark composites of 1/3-charge and -1/3-charge quarks (currently understood as down antiquarks and down quarks), along with positrons. This is the current working hypothesis of the simplified Composite Hadron Model ("sCHM").

One way to further evaluate the sCHM is to determine whether the model reasonably indicates a correlation between the Strong Force necessary to bind nuclei together, in sizes that have been determined experimentally, with the known masses of these nuclei. While not satisfying Popper falsifiability (because so much is unknown about the nature of the Strong Force and the non-Higgs generation of mass), to the extent that a correlation exists between the Strong Force necessary to hold the sCHM nuclei in stable structures, and the known masses of these structures, such correlation would further indicate the validity of the sCHM.

## 3. Results

As will be discussed more fully below, the physical structures of hydrogen nuclei (Figure 1), deuterons (Figure 2), and helium nuclei (one version) (Figure 3), under the sCHM, are:
<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1. Hydrogen nucleus (simplified Composite Hadron Model).</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2. Deuteron (simplified Composite Hadron Model). Structure indicated is flat; a tetrahedral structure is also symmetric in three dimensions.</figcaption></figure>
**Helium**
**Nucleus (v.1)**

= q+ (down antiquark GMQM)

= q- (down quark GMQM)

= positron

= strong force

1.67 femtometers

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>

(down quarks on
other side of each
positron are not
shown)

<caption>Figure 3. Helium nucleus (one version)(simplified Composite Hadron Model).</caption>

**4. Discussion**

The author has recently proposed a composite matter/antimatter hadron structure (the Composite Hadron Model) for all "matter" in the Universe[1]. Arising from the observation that high-intensity (i.e., petawatt) lasers can generate "large quantities" of electron/positron pairs (at least 10¹⁵ electron/positron pairs per sec second)[2], it was hypothesized that quark and antiquark triads (under the Gell-Mann quark model) can pair with positrons to constitute ordinary protons and neutrons. If this hypothesis is correct, then petawatt lasers should transmutate their targets. As it turns out, high-intensity lasers do transmutate their targets[3], so the Composite Hadron Model has, at a minimum, been indicated experimentally.

Based on further experimental observations, an even simpler hadron model was hypothesized[1]. In this simplified Composite Hadron Model, 1/3-charge quarks and 1/3-charge quarks (i.e., down antiquarks and down quarks in the Gell-Mann quark model), sometimes in combination with positrons, constitute the protons and neutrons in the observed Universe.

Under the Composite Hadron Model, proton-proton chain reactions in stars are understood as the primary initiating action in the current epoch of the Universe. Under this model, positrons are ejected from hydrogen nuclei in stars, converting the hydrogen
nuclei to neutrons. The ejected protons interact with nearby electrons, annihilate, and generate 511-keV gamma rays and neutrinos. Neutrons join with protons to form deuterons, and deuterons fuse to form helium nuclei.

The implications of the Composite Hadron Model for cosmology are immense. The apparent gross matter/antimatter asymmetry of the Universe is resolved as a function of *subatomic* matter/antimatter asymmetry. Neutrinos generated in proton-proton chain reactions (which have mass and accelerate instantaneously to nearly the speed of light) cause the expansion, and increasing rate of expansion, of the Universe. The neutrinos generated since stars began to shine (our current epoch in the life of the Universe), because they have mass and are so unreactive, likely constitute the majority of Dark Matter that explains the observed slower-than-expected rate of galaxy rotation. Other currently unexplained physical observations are also explained by the Composite Hadron Model; further detail of these phenomena are described in the prior article. For purposes of this article, however, the development of the simplified Composite Hadron Model is best to be simply understood as a straightforward application of the Scientific Method:

*Observation -- paired-particle generation by high-energy lasers*

In 2009, Hui Chen and others on her team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, along with others from Rice University and the University of Rochester, demonstrated that large quantities of electron/positron pairs are generated, and can be separated magnetically, when a high-energy laser strikes a gold target[2]. It was understood, in agreement with Bethe & Heitler's theoretical understanding, that the positrons generated in these high-energy laser experiments arise from the quantum vacuum. Of great significance is the fact that Chen and her team were able to *easily* magnetically separate the electron/positron pairs generated by her laser. Under current theory, virtual particles that arise from the quantum vacuum cannot be easily separated[7].

*Hypothesis -- Composite Hadron Model*

Because the electron/positron pairs in Chen's experiments were easily separable, the assumption that the positrons generated in high-intensity laser experiments arise from the quantum vacuum was questioned[1]. Rather than arising from the quantum vacuum, it was theorized that the positrons generated when petawatt lasers strike gold targets are *pre-existing* within the gold targets. Assuming that positrons have already existed within the gold target's nuclei, it was theorized that quark *and antiquark* triads can pair with positrons to form neutrons and protons (as we understand them). In the 1950s, John Wheeler, Richard Feynman's thesis advisor, similarly postulated that positrons can exist within "ordinary" matter[8].

The resulting structures of protons in the Composite Hadron Model (Figure 4) would be:
<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Figure 4. Proton and neutron structures in the CHM (with quark triads)</figcaption></figure>

*Experiment -- transmutation of gold to platinum by high-energy laser*

The Composite Hadron Model is testable experimentally. If high-intensity lasers transmutate their targets when generating large quantities of electron/positron pairs, then the CHM would likely be correct.

As it turns out, the transmutation of gold to platinum when a high-energy laser strikes a gold target was demonstrated in 2015 by Alexander Henderson of Rice University, working at the Texas Petawatt Laser Facility (located at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas)[3]. As part of his doctoral research into electron/positron pair production when a petawatt laser strikes various targets, Dr. Henderson observed the transmutation of gold targets to platinum.

*Conclusion*

Dr. Henderson's observation of transmutation indicates that the Composite Hadron Model is correct. The Composite Hadron Model correctly predicted that high-intensity lasers generating positrons from a high-atomic-mass target will transmutate the target, and Dr. Henderson's experimental results satisfy Popper falsifiability of the Composite Hadron Model.

*Further Observations: collision of antiproton and proton; LHC pentaquarks and tetraquarks*

In their Nobel-prize-winning work, Owen Chamberlain and Emile Segrè showed an antiproton colliding with a proton[4]. The result is a shower of ten charged particles (Figure 5). Furthermore, at the Large Hadron Collider, quarks have been observed existing within tetraquark and pentaquark configurations[5,6].
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>Figure 5. Collision of antiproton and proton resulting in ten charged particles (five positively charged and five negatively charged, with $\Pi^+$ decay in lower right).</figcaption></figure>

*Working Hypothesis -- simplified Composite Hadron Model*

Based on the observation that quarks can exist in tetraquark and pentaquark combinations, coupled with the fact that an antiproton/proton collision can result in the production of ten charged particles, the working hypothesis of the simplified Composite Hadron Model is that 1/3-charge quarks, -1/3-charge quarks, positrons, and electrons are the four fundamental components of matter. In this simplified model, the "Universe," in its smallest repeatable unit (Figure 6), consists of:
<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>Red shows "antimatter"; Blue shows "matter" (Really, it's all just observed matter consisting of positively and negatively charged particles)</figcaption></figure>

Figure 6. The simplified Composite Hadron Model in its smallest repeatable unit. (Neutrons cannot exist as free particles & must be bound with protons to be stable; electrons are not shown.)

When these configurations are put together based on basic electrical attraction and repulsion, the configurations of the simplest nuclei (hydrogen nucleus, deuterons, and helium nuclei) are as described in "Results" above. One interesting aspect of these configurations is the physical symmetry of these structures. That symmetry probably explains (or at least contributes to) the multi-billion-year lifespan of these particles. One other interesting aspect of these configurations is their electrical asymmetry. With the internal components, the size, and the electrical forces of simple stable particles (hydrogen nuclei, deuterons, and helium nuclei) established under the simplified Composite Hadron Model, it is possible to begin to evaluate a key mystery of current physics: the nature of the mass of the Universe that is NOT accounted for by the Higgs mechanism. After all, approximately ninety-eight percent of the mass of the Universe is not accounted for by the Higgs mechanism[9].

To that end, it is possible that the Strong Force necessary to bind hydrogen nuclei, deuterons, and helium nuclei is equivalent to the mass of each of these particles. If so, this correlation between Strong Force and mass would indicate that, in some way, the Strong Force itself is the generator (or, at least, the primary generator) of the non-Higgs mass of the Universe. Mathematical physicists are, therefore, encouraged to calculate the Strong Force necessary to hold these particles together, as described in the simplified Composite Hadron Model. (Frankly, the author is not capable of performing these calculations.) While these calculations will not, if there is no correlation between Strong Force and mass, negate the Composite Hadron Model, any correlation found between Strong Force and mass would provide support for the model. More importantly, a correlation between Strong Force and mass would provide new ground for trying to understand the Strong Force, the generation of most of the mass of the Universe, and, potentially, the nature of gravity.
## 5. Conclusion

Mathematical physicists are encouraged to calculate the Strong Force necessary to bind together hydrogen nuclei, deuteron, and helium nuclei under the simplified Composite Hadron Model. If the Strong Force necessary to hold these electrical forces within the observed confines of these structures is reasonably equivalent to the mass of these particles, then a mechanism for the generation of most of the mass of the Universe would be indicated.

**Supplementary Materials/Data Availability:** The datasets generated and analyzed during Dr. Henderson's study are available in the figshare depository, DOI://10.6084/m9 figshare.24319894, with permission of Dr. Henderson. In addition, the datasets for comparison of Pt spectra, used by Dr. Henderson, are located at: https://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat3/getdataset.jsp?nucleus=196Pt&unc=nds, with Dr. Henderson's permission.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** This topic was presented to the 5th International Conference on Symmetry, on May 17, 2025, in Hangzhou, China. Preparation for that conference, and substantive engagement with this topic at that conference, significantly enhanced the preparation of this article. The invitation to speak, and the suggestions related to this topic by conference participants, are greatly appreciated. Any errors here are solely the responsibility of the author.

Dr. Henderson's decision to publish his dataset and to permit its republication, along with use of his spectroscopic reference, is greatly appreciated.

Vanderbilt University is dedicated to principles of open inquiry and institutional neutrality. The support of Dean Chris Guthrie at Vanderbilt for this ongoing project is greatly appreciated.

**Conflict of Interest:** Albireo Scientific Corporation is a private American corporation engaged in scientific work related to the development of matter/antimatter space propulsion. This article is an outgrowth of that scientific work, and it is supportive of that work. No external funding has been received to support this research.

## Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:

CHM Composite Hadron Model

sCHM Simplified Composite Hadron Model

GMQM Gell-Mann Quark Model

## References

1. M. Pickrell, "Composite matter/antimatter hadron structure indicated experimentally at the Texas Petawatt Laser Facility," *Phys. Ess.* **37**(4): 270-78 (Dec 2024).

2. H. Chen, et al., "Relativistic positron creation using ultraintense short pulse lasers," *Phys. Rev. Lett.* **102**: 105001 (March 11, 2009); DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.105001.
3. A. Henderson, "Monte-Carlo simulation and measurements of electrons, positrons, and gamma-rays generated by laser-solid interactions," Rice University, Houston, Texas (January 2015) (doctoral dissertation).

4. O. Chamberlain, et al., "Observation of antiprotons," Phys. Rev. 100: 947 (1955); DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.100.947.

5. LHC Collaboration, "Observation of $J=\psi p$ Resonances Consistent with Pentaquark States in $\Lambda 0b \to J=\psi K^-p$ Decays," Phys. Rev. Lett. 115: 072001 (August 12, 2015); DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.072001.

6. LHC Collaboration, "Observation of an exotic narrow doubly charmed tetraquark," Nat. Phys. 18: 751-54 (June 16, 2022); DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01614-y.

7. G.B. Mainland & B. Mulligan, "How vacuum fluctuations determine the properties of the vacuum," J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1239: 012016 (2019); DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/1239/1/012016.

8. P. Halpern, *Quantum Labyrinth*, Basic Books, New York (2018)(p. 77).

9. C.D. Roberts & S.M. Schmidt, "Reflections upon the emergence of hadronic mass," Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 229: 3319-40 (Dec 2020); DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2020-000064-6.