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Magnetic monopoles

Nature volume 305, pages 673–678 (1983)Cite this article

Abstract

A solitary, uncorroborated event at Stanford is the only evidence that magnetic monopoles might exist. Powerful theoretical motivation for monopoles derives from Dirac's assertion that monopoles could explain charge quantization and the ' t Hooft–Polyakov demonstration that monopoles are an inevitable consequence of many gauge theories presently being used to unify the electroweak (photon–lepton) and nuclear (quark) interactions. The monopole abundance suggested by the Stanford event is in clear contradiction to bounds on their number from astronomical data. Fortunately, the already considerable and expanding arsenal of detection techniques are being fashioned to experimentally test the many open questions surrounding monopoles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois, 60510, USA

    Richard A. Carrigan Jr

  2. Department of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA

    W. Peter Trower

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  1. Richard A. Carrigan Jr
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  2. W. Peter Trower
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Carrigan, R., Trower, W. Magnetic monopoles. Nature 305, 673–678 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/305673a0

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