The Vacuum Field and the Fabric of Space-Time

(A possible unified approach to describing problems in Quantum physics and Cosmology)

 

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The traditional way of describing` the forces of nature and what matter and energy is, involves coming  up with self-consistent mathematical solution that match our observations. But the problem with this is that it has so far failed to successfully unify our description of nature that is consistent at the quantum and cosmic sale (So called Grand Unified field theory).

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Let’s consider that mass is just crunched up space and energy is just ripples on the fabric of space. And see where that leads us with some of the big problems. The big questions in physics and cosmology today include:

 

1. What is time - does it exist in the absence of matter and energy? and why is time apparently an absolute quantity at quantum scales but variable at cosmic scales?

2. What is gravity and why can we not unify a description at the quantum and cosmic level? - is it just a consequence of the curvature of space due to mass?

3. What is mass exactly - is a model that describes discrete quanta of mass-energy equivalence and particle-wave nature just a convenient model that allows us to manipulate forces and particles with maths equations. What is the stuff itself? Is it strings of vibrational energy?  - is it just ultra-compressed space?

4. What is dark matter - do we have to invent more invisible particles to explain it - is it primordial black holes? Or is it just the residual gravitational effect of the residual mass/energy of the vacuum field (average energy half that of a photon).

5. What is dark energy exactly? - is it just a solution to a universe that appears to be expanding ever more rapidly? Or does dark energy arise from the observable universe being stretched and pulled apart by a type 1 multiverse outside our observable one?

6. What is a photon, and can it exist in a genuine place where there is not even a tangible fabric of space? Or can we view it as a discrete limited wave function packet that is really an oscillation in the electric and magnetic vectors of a physical vacuum field?

7. Why is there a limit to the speed of light - could it be that the vacuum field has a positive viscosity that prevents energy propagation at more than ‘c’. 

8. What exactly is the vacuum field (also known as the fabric of space-time) and is there currently dedicated research into studying this “quantity” - c.f. Casimir effect (Physics World Sep 2002).

 

The current focus seems to be on discrete particles e.g., leptons, quarks, bosons and of course photons. But this raises the question of what these particles are and if they all behave as waves, why not just consider them as wave functions with an energy equivalence, and if they are wave functions with matter-energy equivalence – could they simply be oscillations and compressions of space-time itself? And what is the vacuum of space made of – we know that space can stretch, and that hawking radiation suggests the vacuum boils with quarks and anti-quarks boiling in and out of existence – and what are photons how can they exist in the absence of a medium? and then that begs the question what exactly an electromagnetic field is made of.

 

I find that when complex issues are reduced to a level where most people can understand them at some level then clarity often emerges.

 

I find the current discussions on quantum physics and cosmology provides unsatisfactory answers to the above, so on the basis that the unification of the forces of nature is likely to result in a gasp of “why did we not see that before – nature is of course simple” – let’s look for a unified way of describing everything and see if it answers the above questions.

 

Let’s consider that mass is just crushed up space-time and energy is just oscillations on the fabric of space-time.

 

Taking my questions in more detail.

 

1. Time - is it possible that time is just a way of labelling how matter and energy propagate? After all if we accelerate a mass to as close to the speed of light as possible; then time appears to come to a standstill, and similarly when the fabric of space is stretched to an event horizon by a black hole similarly time stands still - but is this just because matter and energy cannot be observed to change at an event horizon or close to the speed of light?, where the energy required to change the state of matter reaches infinity. So perhaps time only exists where there is matter and energy evolving.
    

2. Is Gravity just a consequence of the curvature of space due to mass I don’t think this is controversial - but why then do we need to invent exchange particles to propagate gravitational effects (see below for energy propagation by a photon) if all we are observing is a distortion of space. Is there a supposed viscosity of the vacuum field. If it takes energy to stretch space and space is a real thing, then does space have a viscosity which would imply more and more energy needed to stretch it quickly and hence be a reason for why there is a velocity limit.
    

3. Is the missing mass in the universe not dark matter/energy but just the gravitational effect of space (the vacuum field) itself with its residual energy exerting a mass? This suggests mass or gravitational distortion arises were there is a concentration of net residual “vacuum field energy” which leads to a rather bizarre idea that mass may just be crunched up space. A tiny amount of imbalance in the vacuum field might create a net positive “mass” or space curvature if you like, to have a noticeable effect on the expansion of the universe to mimic dark matter. It might explain why galaxies don't spin apart because the very vacuum of space is exerting a net curvature itself. (This is analogous to the mystery of why we have a net positive amount of matter over antimatter – and hence be an explanation of inflation). Is the idea of mass being crunched up space any more bizarre that the idea recently discussed in Physics World that quantum entanglement gives rise to space itself?
    

4. What is a photon? Well, if it was a ripple on the fabric of space (which would have to have a physical expression of a magnetic and an electric vector field), then a viscosity of space-time would explain the reason for a limiting velocity and the exact value might be predicted if we measure the properties of the vacuum field? It is logical that if mass/energy was needed to flex the fabric of space then the rate at which it could be flexed might account for needing to push a mass particle with an infinite amount of energy to get it to light speed. We would also not need to imagine a photon existing on its own in the absence of even a vacuum field - and it would neatly explain the transfer of energy that a photon achieves and explain why time does not pass for a photon.

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Conclusion: If the answer is to consider that the fabric of space is the entity that needs studying and not lots of different particles and forces propagating in an infinite nothingness – then we might see an alternative solution to understanding the unification of Quantum and cosmic processes.

 

If the vacuum field has a net positive “viscosity” and time does not exist as a separate ‘dimension” but is simply a way of labelling the evolution of (every increasing) entropy itself – the study of entropy and the vacuum of space it might be a route for further research.

 

The above is not a solution to all these problems it is a suggestion that conceptually the investment of resources in understanding exactly what the vacuum field or space-time is could yield a better understanding of the mysteries of quantum physics and cosmology.

 

Perhaps it will be only by mathematicians, quantum physicists and cosmologists working together “outside the box”, in fields of study that are driven not by grant funding bodies that maintain the status quo but by a genuine search for original solutions, might we progress rapidly to the answers?

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David Robinson

Jan 2023