THE NEUTRON-PROTON MASS DIFFERENCE FROM A COMPOSITE NEUTRON MODEL

The author's previous results in general relativity about the neutron as a composite (p(+)-Phi(a)(p(+)-p(-))-e(-)), having yielded the corre ct order of magnitude of the binding energy of this composite neutron as well as the magnitude and sign of the magnetic moment, is applied h ere to the problem of the neutron-proton mass difference. Following fr om the expression for the inertial mass as a function of <<spin-affine -connection>> (a geometrical curvature field for the <<pairs>> in the neighborhood of any observed elementary particle), the estimate follow s that the neutron-proton mass difference should be the order of magni tude of 3m(e) similar or equal to 1.5 MeV, where m(e) is the electron mass. The empirical value for this mass difference is the order of 1.3 MeV. While the agreement is not exact, the author feels that it is cl ose enough (in view of the approximations used) to not rule out the co mposite neutron model of this theory.