There is no "Theory of Everything" inside E8

Abstract

We analyze certain subgroups of real and complex forms of the Lie group E8, and deduce that any "Theory of Everything" obtained by embedding the gauge groups of gravity and the Standard Model into a real or complex form of E8 lacks certain representation-theoretic properties required by physical reality. The arguments themselves amount to representation theory of Lie algebras in the spirit of Dynkin's classic papers and are written for mathematicians.

Final version, to appear in Communications in Mathematical Physics. The main difference, from the previous version, is the creation of a new section, containing a response to Lisi's objections to our work

References in corpus (3)

• Gauged N=4 supergravities
• An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything
• On exceptional nilpotents in semisimple Lie algebras

Cited by in corpus (17)

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• Generalised Proper Time as a Unifying Basis for Models with Two Right-Handed Neutrinos
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• The GraviGUT Algebra Is not a Subalgebra of $E_8$, but $E_8$ Does Contain an Extended GraviGUT Algebra
• Lie Group Cosmology
• Exceptional Periodicity and Magic Star Algebras. I : Foundations
• A Proposed $E_8\times E_8$ Kinematic Scaffolding for the Standard Model with Pre-Gravitation
• Flipped $SU(5)$ GUT with conformal gravity from a single supermultiplet