On the Classification of Fundamental Particles

A new four-dimensional isotopic spin formalism is developed for the heavy fundamental particles. All particles correspond to single-valued representations of the rotation group and there is complete symmetry between the isotopic properties of fermions and bosons. The resulting classification is similar to Gell-Mann's except that the degeneracy in the classification of the K-mesons is removed. The forms of the strong interactions are given explicitly. The physical consequences of the theory are discussed in detail. In particular it predicts the existence of a neutral K-meson of lifetime ~ 10⁻¹⁹s. A new experimental technique for detecting this particle is suggested.