Mass generation in graphs

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kleftogiannis, Ioannis, Amanatidis, Ilias
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908941973192704
author Kleftogiannis, Ioannis
Amanatidis, Ilias
author_facet Kleftogiannis, Ioannis
Amanatidis, Ilias
contents We demonstrate a mechanism for the production of massive excitations in graphs. We treat the number of neighbors at each vertex in the graph (degree) as a scalar field. Then we introduce a mechanism inspired by the Higgs mechanism in quantum field theory(QFT), that couples the degree field to a vector-like field, introduced via the graph edges, represented mathematically by the incident matrices of the graph. The coupling between the two fields produces a massless ground state and massive excitations, separated by a mass gap. The excitations can be treated as emergent massive particles, propagating inside the graph. We study how the size of the graph and its density, represented by the ratio of edges over vertices, affects the mass gap and the localization properties of the massive excitations. We show that the most massive excitations, corresponding to the heaviest emergent particles, localize on regions of the graph with high density, consisting of vertices with a large degree. On the other hand, the least massive excitations, corresponding to the lightest emergent particles localize on a few vertices but with a smaller degree. Excitations with intermediate masses are less localized, spreading on more vertices instead. Our study shows that emergence of matter-like structures with various mass properties, is possible in discrete physical models, relying only on a few fundamental properties like the connectivity of the models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_05494
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mass generation in graphs
Kleftogiannis, Ioannis
Amanatidis, Ilias
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Lattice
High Energy Physics - Theory
Quantum Physics
We demonstrate a mechanism for the production of massive excitations in graphs. We treat the number of neighbors at each vertex in the graph (degree) as a scalar field. Then we introduce a mechanism inspired by the Higgs mechanism in quantum field theory(QFT), that couples the degree field to a vector-like field, introduced via the graph edges, represented mathematically by the incident matrices of the graph. The coupling between the two fields produces a massless ground state and massive excitations, separated by a mass gap. The excitations can be treated as emergent massive particles, propagating inside the graph. We study how the size of the graph and its density, represented by the ratio of edges over vertices, affects the mass gap and the localization properties of the massive excitations. We show that the most massive excitations, corresponding to the heaviest emergent particles, localize on regions of the graph with high density, consisting of vertices with a large degree. On the other hand, the least massive excitations, corresponding to the lightest emergent particles localize on a few vertices but with a smaller degree. Excitations with intermediate masses are less localized, spreading on more vertices instead. Our study shows that emergence of matter-like structures with various mass properties, is possible in discrete physical models, relying only on a few fundamental properties like the connectivity of the models.
title Mass generation in graphs
topic Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Lattice
High Energy Physics - Theory
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.05494