Experts explain the risky theory of an anti-universe

This hypothesis, as complicated as it may sound, is an attempt by its authors to explain in a simpler and “economical” way, many of the mysteries of the universe, including the mysterious dark matter.

There are two basic concepts to understanding the idea of ​​an anti-universe.

The first relates to the Standard Model of particle physics, the theory that describes the fundamental particles that make up the universe and the forces that cause them to interact with each other.

According to the Standard Model, whenever a particle appears, so does its counterpart of antimatter, which is an identical particle but with a different charge.

This means that during the great explosion The same amount of matter and antimatter were produced.

The second concept is symmetry.

In cosmology, this principle indicates that any physical process remains the same even if time is regressing, if Void Or if the particles are replaced by antiparticles.

Based on these two principles, the analogy that can be made is that, just as the universe exists, an anti-universe can be expected to be symmetric to the universe we know.

symmetry

In a recent study by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the authors analyzed a type of symmetry called CPT, the initials for charge, valence, and time.

This symmetry indicates that if you reverse the charges, the image and the particle interaction time, this interaction will behave in the same way.

Therefore, this symmetry that applies to particles, according to the study authors, can also be applied to the universe as a whole, opening up the possibility of a symmetric universe.

“The Universe as a Whole is CPT Symmetric,” the authors wrote in their paper.

Under this hypothesis, the Big Bang is the starting point at which the universe and its mirror image arose.

How is that against the universe?

Latham Boyle, one of the study’s co-authors, cautions that he is not sure about the anti-universe hypothesis and that his proposals should be verified empirically.

But he thinks his calculations give him some clues.

“So far, we think the anti-universe is a true mirror image that reflects over time, with particle and antiparticle exchanges,” Boyle says in a conversation with BBC Mundo.

According to this view, this anti-universe is not an independent universe, but merely a reflection of our own.

“We have an ‘anti-self’ in the other universe, but it’s not independent,” Boyle says.

“If you choose to eat eggs for breakfast, your anti-variety version can’t choose to eat bacon for breakfast.”

“If you had eggs for breakfast, he would have to have an anti-egg for breakfast.”

And what about time in the anti-universe?

As Boyle and colleagues suggested, the Big Bang is like a mirror that reflects not only the image, but also the direction of time.

On both sides of the universe, time moves away from the Big Bang, only on one side the arrow of time goes to the right, and on the other side it goes to the left.

“Every aspect of the universe thinks it’s perfectly normal,” Boyle says. They both think their time is moving forward.”

“From our point of view, in the time of the anti-universe is going backwards, but for them it is we who are going backwards.”

Boyle’s idea holds another startling possibility: it may be that we are the ones who live in an anti-universe and don’t know it.

And another question you may ask yourself: Is it possible to travel to this anti-universe?

“We can’t cross over to the other side of the glass,” Boyle says. “So it should be possible to travel into the past.”

This means that you will have to travel through space-time, cross the Big Bang singularity and exit the other side.

minimal solutions

But beyond these sci-fi-like ideas, Boyle and colleagues’ work also suggests solutions to more practical problems in physics and cosmology.

For years, scientists have proposed various theories to explain what dark matter is, but no one has a convincing answer yet.

Some possible answers suggest that dark matter is made of a particle we don’t know about yet, that is, outside the Standard Model.

However, Boyle’s study provides a “cheaper” answer to the dark matter puzzle.

His suggestion is that to explain dark matter it is not necessary to imagine new particles.

Instead, Boyle thinks the answer may be that dark matter is made up of “right neutrinos,” a variety of neutrinos, which are not part of the Standard Model.

“Right neutrinos” have yet to be proven, but according to Boyle, many scientists agree that they may be part of the Standard Model.

In this way, Boyle saves himself the effort of speculating on new particles and finds the answer in the laws of physics we already know.

So far, known neutrinos are “left-handed,” referring to the direction in which they are spinning.

But in a symmetric world, there would also be a right-handed neutrino, that is, an antineutrino, according to astrophysicist Paul Sutter, in an article on the Living Science Portal where he reviews Boyle’s study.

These right-handed neutrinos will mostly be invisible and their presence can only be detected through gravity.

Joseph Formaggio, a physicist who researches the role of neutrinos in cosmology, says he finds Boyle’s proposal to explain dark matter intriguing.

No inflation, no gravitational waves

Finally, the study questions the existence of cosmic inflation and primordial gravitational waves.

Boyle’s model questions whether there was a period in which the universe expanded rapidly after the Big Bang, a concept known as inflation.

This inflation, in turn, may have created primordial gravitational waves, which are ripples that travel in the fabric of spacetime, like ripples from a stone being thrown into a lake.

Boyle’s suggestion is that instead of inflation, the theme of the universe expanded less forcefully, without the need for a “flaming age”.

Therefore, according to this model, if there was no inflation, then there would also be no primitive gravitational waves.

In 2015 gravitational waves were first detected, however, Boyle cautions that these events correspond to events much later than the Big Bang, and therefore are not primitive gravitational waves.