Posted on 02/09/2015 10:55:17 AM PST by Red Badger
(Phys.org) —The universe may have existed forever, according to a new model that applies quantum correction terms to complement Einstein's theory of general relativity. The model may also account for dark matter and dark energy, resolving multiple problems at once.
The widely accepted age of the universe, as estimated by general relativity, is 13.8 billion years. In the beginning, everything in existence is thought to have occupied a single infinitely dense point, or singularity. Only after this point began to expand in a "Big Bang" did the universe officially begin.
Although the Big Bang singularity arises directly and unavoidably from the mathematics of general relativity, some scientists see it as problematic because the math can explain only what happened immediately after—not at or before—the singularity.
"The Big Bang singularity is the most serious problem of general relativity because the laws of physics appear to break down there," Ahmed Farag Ali at Benha University and the Zewail City of Science and Technology, both in Egypt, told Phys.org.
Ali and coauthor Saurya Das at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, have shown in a paper published in Physics Letters B that the Big Bang singularity can be resolved by their new model in which the universe has no beginning and no end.
Old ideas revisited
The physicists emphasize that their quantum correction terms are not applied ad hoc in an attempt to specifically eliminate the Big Bang singularity. Their work is based on ideas by the theoretical physicist David Bohm, who is also known for his contributions to the philosophy of physics. Starting in the 1950s, Bohm explored replacing classical geodesics (the shortest path between two points on a curved surface) with quantum trajectories.
In their paper, Ali and Das applied these Bohmian trajectories to an equation developed in the 1950s by physicist Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri at Presidency University in Kolkata, India. Raychaudhuri was also Das's teacher when he was an undergraduate student of that institution in the '90s.
Using the quantum-corrected Raychaudhuri equation, Ali and Das derived quantum-corrected Friedmann equations, which describe the expansion and evolution of universe (including the Big Bang) within the context of general relativity. Although it's not a true theory of quantum gravity, the model does contain elements from both quantum theory and general relativity. Ali and Das also expect their results to hold even if and when a full theory of quantum gravity is formulated.
No singularities nor dark stuff
In addition to not predicting a Big Bang singularity, the new model does not predict a "big crunch" singularity, either. In general relativity, one possible fate of the universe is that it starts to shrink until it collapses in on itself in a big crunch and becomes an infinitely dense point once again.
Ali and Das explain in their paper that their model avoids singularities because of a key difference between classical geodesics and Bohmian trajectories. Classical geodesics eventually cross each other, and the points at which they converge are singularities. In contrast, Bohmian trajectories never cross each other, so singularities do not appear in the equations.
In cosmological terms, the scientists explain that the quantum corrections can be thought of as a cosmological constant term (without the need for dark energy) and a radiation term. These terms keep the universe at a finite size, and therefore give it an infinite age. The terms also make predictions that agree closely with current observations of the cosmological constant and density of the universe.
New gravity particle
In physical terms, the model describes the universe as being filled with a quantum fluid. The scientists propose that this fluid might be composed of gravitons—hypothetical massless particles that mediate the force of gravity. If they exist, gravitons are thought to play a key role in a theory of quantum gravity.
In a related paper, Das and another collaborator, Rajat Bhaduri of McMaster University, Canada, have lent further credence to this model. They show that gravitons can form a Bose-Einstein condensate (named after Einstein and another Indian physicist, Satyendranath Bose) at temperatures that were present in the universe at all epochs.
Motivated by the model's potential to resolve the Big Bang singularity and account for dark matter and dark energy, the physicists plan to analyze their model more rigorously in the future. Their future work includes redoing their study while taking into account small inhomogeneous and anisotropic perturbations, but they do not expect small perturbations to significantly affect the results.
"It is satisfying to note that such straightforward corrections can potentially resolve so many issues at once," Das said.
Explore further: Did the universe originate from a hyper-dimensional black hole?
More information: Ahmed Farag Ali and Saurya Das. "Cosmology from quantum potential." Physics Letters B. Volume 741, 4 February 2015, Pages 276–279. DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2014.12.057. Also at: arXiv:1404.3093[gr-qc].
Saurya Das and Rajat K. Bhaduri, "Dark matter and dark energy from Bose-Einstein condensate", preprint: arXiv:1411.0753[gr-qc].
Journal reference: Physics Letters B
If there was no beginning, then how do we explain galaxies moving away from each other today?
They were for the Aether before they were against it before they were lately for it.
“If there was no beginning, then how do we explain galaxies moving away from each other today?”
Easy. Racism. Next question?
Whoa, looks like she’s had some work on her face. Not good.
Or maybe it’s just bad lighting and unflattering makeup.
Tune in tomorrow for our next thrilling episode ...
And if galaxies collide and reform why not entire universes in an undiscovered space/time continuum?
The universe vs multiverse paradox.
What's it doin' there?
Oh, Intercourse the penguin!
“Wait, wasn’t that “settled science”??”
Certainly not. The physics described by Newton and Einstein are still applicable observations of certain physical behaviors with respect to certain limited frames of reference. It is when the observations of experience are extended beyond the bounds in which their descriptions remain applicable that more complete descriptions become more accurate in the new context.
The comment takes me back many years to a college freshman literature class, I was really an engineering student. The assignment was to write a 2-3 page paper on anything we chose. I used the pages to tell why I was writing about ‘nothing’ and that what I was writing on was really ‘nothing’. As such there was ‘nothing’ I could really write about. Such for all the pages. The prof. commented that my writing on nothing was interesting but only was worth a B grade.
When faced with the unknowable, we humans are inclined to use what we have experienced or observed for an explanation. i.e. We are born, live and die and our understanding of space & time is based on those certainties (a beginning, a middle and an end).
God had no beginning and has no end - He is forever and we just don’t get it.
jmho
The universe explodes is part of the atheist game plan.
Yaweh God describes himself as “I am”
don’t see a begining or an end with that description
They must have used a dipstick ........................
Again...................
Galaxaphobia................
I have a son who’s a lot like Sheldon.
“Oh, is Pat having one of his patented psychotic meltdowns again? Just move him away from the stove so we can get supper on. He’ll stop when he gets bored with it ...”
Each theory is good until it doesn’t explain something, then you have to start a search for new theory.................
Hide all sharp objects and put lots of towels down..................
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