Scientists at Northwestern University are questioning the basic laws of physics
Red Nova, translation: Dikla Oren
In this opposite world of changing trends and stormy alliances, two scientists from Northwestern University offer an answer to the question, why even the fundamental constants of nature no longer seem fundamental.
The coupling between the electrons and protons, called the stable structure constant or alpha, may not be constant and may have been 200,000 times weaker 10 billion years ago. This is a new astronomical finding, which provokes a heated debate, since it is not included in the standard model of physics. He may indicate adjustments that should be made in the standard model, which was proposed by String Theory - the modern theory "of everything", which tries to unify all the forces of nature.
According to Dr. Louis Anhorduki and Dr. Haim Goldberg of the Department of Physics at Northwestern University in Boston, Massachusetts, the tiny visible change in alpha over the years may reflect the accelerated expansion rate of the universe, if electrons and protons were closer together when the universe began to expand. The scientists describe the process in the latest issue of "Physical Review" (Physical Review D: Vol. 68, 083513 (2003)).
"The apparent change in the stable structure constant remains controversial, in part because it contradicts standard field theory, the basis of all successes in atomic and nuclear physics, in which this constant is an invariant quantity in all calculations," Ankhorduki said. "However, we found that this change is consistent with a wide range of observations."
Light signals from very distant and bright galaxies, called quasars, tend to point to the fact that the connection between the electron and the proton was weaker in the early universe. The light left these galaxies about 10 billion years ago, so it reflects the state of matter (and the laws of nature) in this era. The apparent change was observed in several independent measurements.
On Earth, on the other hand, studies in a natural fission reactor, which operated in Gabon about two billion years ago, did not show any change in the stable structure constant to an accuracy of one part in ten million. Hence, if the stable structure constant has changed over the years, it has not done so consistently. Anchorduki and Goldberg attempt to reconcile this discrepancy.
They suggest that the so-called change in the stable structure constant is related to a "fifth element". It is a theory of dark energy, in which a mysterious universal repulsive force, which was weak in earlier times, now overpowers gravity and causes the universe to expand at an ever-faster rate. Anchorduki and Goldberg worked with one particular model of the fifth element, proposed by Dr. Andreas Albrecht and Dr. Constantinos Skordis of the University of California, Davis, in 2000. They found that their theory of the stable structure constant, when viewed in the context of a model The fifth element provides a match between the information from the quasars and Megabon.
That is, the stable structure constant was measurably weaker 10 billion years ago, but when dark energy took over about 8 billion years ago, the force between electrons and protons became stronger and more constant.
The strength of the force between electrons and protons in matter, created at any two points in time over the past few billion years, is practically indistinguishable.
The reason for this lies in the unique behavior of the Albrecht-Scordis model, in which the dark energy field has not stopped changing in the current era. Also, this model is consistent with the invaluable information collected by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and determined basic properties of the universe, such as its age and shape, as stated in a February 2003 announcement. Ankhorduki and Goldberg They said that analyzing light from even more distant quasars would show a continuous decrease in the strength of the stable structure constant.
They also said that it will be possible to test their theory soon with the help of a small improvement in the sensitivity of the acceleration measurements of different bodies in free fall. This is because a change in the stable structure constant implies a change in this type of acceleration, when the chemical mixture changes. This is a violation of the principle of equivalence, introduced by Albert Einstein in the theory of general relativity.
Two proposed missions, to be stationed on the moon, will have the appropriate sensitivity: the MICROSCOPE mission from France's National Center d'Etudes Spatiales, which is expected to fly in 2005; and a NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) mission, called STEP (Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle).
"We may be able to test this model of the changing stable structure constant within a few years with instruments on satellites," Goldberg said. "Or we can continue to watch Alpha in lab experiments for another few billion years to see changes in the quasar's magnitude. I trust the satellites."
Link to the original article on RedNova
Link to the abstract of the scientific article
Astrophysics connoisseur - the universe
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