Attempts to Calculate the Electron Mass

Abstract

In conventional quantum electrodynamics both the electron mass and the muon mass are free parameters, so that their ratio is arbitrary. In a unified theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions, this need not be the case. We examine models in which only the muon mass appears as a counterterm. The electron is massless in zeroth order, but develops a finite and calculable mass of order $\alpha m_{\mu }$. Unfortunately, the precise value of the electron mass depends on details of the models, and in particular on masses of unobserved vector bosons.