On 08 Dec 2017, at 00:43, Lawrence Crowell wrote:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23631550-600-dark-energy-is-mutating-with-grave-consequences-for-the-cosmos/
This is interesting and a bit disturbing. Phantom energy means the
vacuum energy density is increasing with time. This means that not
only is the universe accelerating the acceleration itself is
increasing. With ordinary dark energy the quantum vacuum energy is
constant which gives an exponential rule for the time dependent
separation of two test masses (galaxies) is exponential, but it
asymptotes. There is some time in the future where the rate of
separation diverges. With exponential expansion things
gravitationally bound, such as galaxies, experience no increase in a
force pulling them apart. With phantom energy that does happen. In
fact towards the end stellar systems of planets get torn apart, then
the stars and planet. then atoms, then hadrons are pulled apart into
a plasma of quarks and gluons and ... it hits a gravitational
singularity called the big rip. Everything is snuffed out of
existence.
What is disturbing about these data is it implies this has been
going on very noticeably during the past history of the cosmos. So
the quantum vacuum has been changing through the last 10 or more
billion years. That is what is most unsettling. It implies something
very odd is going on with quantum mechanics that frankly makes no
sense. Certainly the contribution to the vacuum energy of the
universe can't be due to some change in known quantum fields. The
fine structure constant α = e^2/ħc ~ 1/137.0, for e the electric
charge ħ the Planck unit of action and c the speed of light, is
measured from distant atomic transitions is galaxies and no change
is observed. If there were changes to the QCD vacuum energy this
would be seen in changes in the mass of protons and nuclei. No such
thing is observed, for this too would impact atomic transitions in
atoms in distant galaxies.
Before going into more physics there is the lighter disturbing
element to this in that it appears Schopenhauer may not have been
half baked when he said we life in the worst of all possible worlds.
This was a sort of anti-Liebnitzian stance he had. In my philosophy
classes I couldn't stand Schopenhauer; I always groaned when he came
up. I always thought he was a clinically depressed nut who took too
long at getting around to his suicide. A phantom universe is not
different than any other; no matter what type of universe you exist
in you are doomed. Well, except for the steady State cosmology that
is empirically ruled out. However, with phantom energy you are not
only doomed, but it is coming a whole lot sooner.
I think the universe consists of only one electron, and only one
type of neutrino, and one photon and one up quark with r and b
charge and ... . The reason why we see so many of them is they
careen between the early universe with inflationary expansion where
the vacuum energy is enormous, and they careen off the future vacuum
energy where again it is enormous. The tiny cosmological constant we
observe is bounded in time by two huge vacuum energies. So a type of
elementary particle, say an electron, cycles back and forth in time
appearing as an electron here when going forwards in time, an anti-
electron there when going backwards in time after being deflected by
the future big rip singularity and appears as an electron somewhere
else. So the electrons running in the wires of my computer are all
the same, and the same as electrons in a white dwarf star exerting
degenerate pressure, a positron generated near a black hole, or an
electron being ejected by a hot star.
This is potentially my solution to the whole problem of the 123
orders of magnitude issue with the quantum vacuum. Quantum fields
are modeled as harmonic oscillators. The pendulum with small swing
is a classical case. However, quantum mechanically a zero-swinging
pendulum (a plumb bob) has an uncertainty in its position so it has
some swing --- no matter how much you try to get rid of it. If you
sum over all possible frequencies quantum fields give this zero
point energy, or quantum vacuum, that has 10^{123} times what would
determine the cosmological constant. This is a big outstanding
problem. It might just be this huge vacuum does exist, but it exists
not locally in time, but at the very beginning and the end.
So there is opportunity here, but it does ultimately mean we are
DOOMED!
OK. Assuming that a "physical universe" can somehow select your
history from the infinitely many one emulated in the arithmetical
reality.
This is, from the point of view of (serious) metaphysics, a quite
strong assumption, of the type "religion", and even of the type "non-
mechanist religion".
Someone said that there are only two certainties: taxes and death. If
we are machine, we lost one more certainty, and we can be sure only of
one thing: taxes.
... You really think you could evade paying your taxes with some
doomsday? It will not work (assuming mechanism).
Bruno
LC
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