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Showing posts from November, 2022

Our cosmic event horizon on a string

In this post, we introduced the idea that in the presence of a positive cosmological constant, there is a minimum (local) mass mGR   McDormand swinging a cosmic light-like mass-energy mGR, with a "cosmic string" of radius lΛ, giving a centripetal force Flocal=mGR c2/lΛ.    Let's think about that string for a bit. In fact, a great number of physicists have spent their entire careers tied up unraveling string theory . For a classical string, which lives in D = 10 dimensions, associated with Nambu-Goto action, the the string tension TG is a local force, or energy per unit length (dimensions MLT2): TG=12παα is the Regge slope parameter, set here with dimensions of inverse force.  The wavelength of the stringy mass-energy standing wave (such that it does not interfere with itself), is the circumference of the circle, and we know it moves...

A cosmological constant solution via the holographic principle

In a previous post we mentioned how the discrepancy in the classical and quantum estimates of the stiffness of space-time was another version of the cosmological constant problem (CCP). You will find some people claiming this is a non-problem , however, the CCP is actually one of the two great naturalness problems in modern physics.  From observations, the cosmological constant Λ1.3×1052 m2. The so-called 10121 crisis can be expressed as the ratio of the Planck density (from QFT) and the actual observed dark energy density: ρPlanck/ρΛρΛ=Λc28πG ρPlanck=c5G2  The QFT result comes from quantising a 'particle in a box'. However, in 1998 the CKN bound was proposed. CKN realised that if you put particles in a box and heat them, you can only increase their energy so much before the box collapses int...

The fabric of space-time: stiffer than steel or weaker than jello?

  The notorious rubber sheet analogy of spacetime teaches one concept and once concept only: Mass-energy causes curvature of space-time.   When a gravitating mass recedes from a region of space-time the curvature diminishes. The field equations of General Relativity don’t have an explicit term for this elastic property, but the framework as a whole does have that property. As very large mass-energies are required to generate gravitational waves (ripples in space-time), the elastic property of space-time is generally regarded as very stiff One other interesting consideration here is that elasticity is an emergent phenomenon. There is a great deal of interest in the idea that gravity is similarly emergent .   In 2018, McDonald quantified the classical stiffness of space-time via Youngs Modulus .  Classical answer: Youngs Modulus of space-time 20 orders of magnitude greater than steel.   DALL.E2 depiction of classical space-time. (Credit SR Anderso...