A Theory of Spontaneous T Violation

A theory of spontaneous T violation is presented. The total T and a gauge transformation (e.g., the hypercharge gauge), but the physical solutions are not. In addition to the spin-1 gauge field and the known matter fields, in its simplest form the theory consists of two complex spin-0 fields. Through the spontaneous symmetry-breaking mechanism of Goldstone and Higgs, the vacuum expectation values of these two spin-0 fields can be characterized by the shape of a triangle and their quantum fluctuations by its vibrational modes, just like a triangular molecule. T violations can be produced among the known particles through virtual excitations of the vibrational modes of the triangle which has a built-in T-violating phase angle. Examples of both Abelian and non-Abelian gauge groups are discussed. For renormalizable theories, all spontaneously T-violating effects are finite. It is found that at low energy, below the threshold of producing these vibrational quanta, T violation is always quite small. (auth)