The new way of explaining gravity can lead us to a step to resolving the unresolved differences so far that it has with quantum mechanics.
Physicists Miko Partanna and Juka Tulki of the University of Aalto in Finland have come up with a new way of thinking about gravity, which they say is compatible with the standard particle physics model, the theory describing the other three major forces in the universe – strong, weak and electromagnetic.
This is not quite a theory of quantum gravity … but it can help us get there.
“If this turns out to lead to a complete theory of the gravity of the quantum field, then it will eventually give answers to the very difficult problems of understanding the peculiarities in the black holes and the big explosion,” says Partanese.
“Theory that consistently describes all the basic forces of nature is often called the theory of everything. Some basic questions of physics still remain unanswered. For example, current theories do not yet explain why there is more matter than antimatter in the observed universe.”
Gravity is indeed a thorn in the country of a pleasant, neat explanation of the behavior of the universe. This is the fourth and the worst, the main strength, but it does not play well with the other three. Quantum theory describes how the physical universe behaves on a really small scale-atomic and subatomic-but does not work with the large-scale universe where gravity takes over.
Classical physics and general relativity describe gravity really well, but not the quantum sphere. So far, the two theories have proven to be insoluble; Yet the universe exists quite cheerful with both of them, so scientists think that there should be a way to make them play well.
As the problem turned out to be so insoluble, it is probably that it will not be resolved at once, but gradual but important steps. The gradual step that the part and Tuki have taken is to describe gravity in the context of a gauge – a concept of quantum field theory, in which particle behavior is described in a specific field.
The electromagnetic field is an example of a gauge. So is the gravitational field.
“The most known gauge field is the electromagnetic field. When the electrically charged particles interact with each other, they interact through the electromagnetic field, which is the corresponding gauge field,” Tulki explains.
“So when we have particles that have energy, the interactions they have only because they have energy, they would happen through the gravitational field.”
A diagram demonstrating the flat space-time of the quantum field and the curved field expected for quantum gravity. (Mikko Partanen and Jukka Tulkki/Aalto University)
The standard model is the theory of dimensions that describes the strong, weak and electromagnetic forces and has specific symmetries. In order to bring the theory of gravity to the standard model, Partanen and Tulkki have tried to apply these symmetries to the theory of gravity of the dimensions.
Their published results seem promising.
“Our theory brings the theory of gravity the gravity to the theories of the dimensions of the standard model compared to conventional gravity theories,” the document wrote in their document.
It is important to note that the work is very, very far from the theory of quantum gravity. However, it is an important path to a study that can significantly improve the search for a solution to this pressing problem in physics.
To this end, Partanen and Tulkki invite other scientists to participate in the progress of work. The document reaches a certain point and the theory works well within this limit, but it will require much more physics and stress testing.
“A complete understanding of the consequences of combining gravity on the theories of the field,” the researchers wrote, “will only be obtained after extensive extra work.”
The document has been published in Progress reports in physicsS