One of the most fundamental theorems in quantum field theory, is the CPT theorem, it relates the properties of matter and anti-matter particles, and in particular shows that anti-particles must have the same mass and lifetime as ordinary particles. A recent measurement from MINOS, a accelerator neutrino experiment, has for the first time offered evidence that CPT is broken, it measured the mass difference between electron and muon neutrinos and also electron and muon anti-neutrinos, by watching them oscillate, changing form, in the 735Km between the Fermilab where the neutrinos are created and MINOS neutrino detector.
The first measurement show that the mass difference between electron and muon neutrinos is 40% smaller than for anti-neutrinos. The experimental uncertainty leaves just a 5% chance that the mass difference is the same for both particles. Unless some other effect such as interaction with the background matter along the journey has prevented some of the muon neutrinos oscillating to electron neutrinos, it looks like evidence of CPT violation for the first time. CPT violation also applies violation of Lorentz symmetry, so the effect would be in some way breaking specially relativity. I expect that this measurement may disappear as more data come in, but note that my Axial-force would imply that ordinary matter has a background sea of neutrinos that might interact with the travelling neutrinos (more so that anti-neutrinos), to slow the neutrino oscillation.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Monday, 7 June 2010
Supermassive Black Hole growth limits dark matter
Found an interesting article, at the daily galaxy. About a paper from from Dr. Xavier Hernandez and Dr. William Lee, (sorry, no article citation in the link, and couldn't find them with an ArXiv search), which looks at how the central black hole in the middle of a galaxy, absorbs dark matter. According to the Hernandez and Lee, if the density of dark matter in the centre of the galaxy, is greater than seven hole masses per cubic light year, the central black hole would grow fast than observation of black hole size predict. However ordinary theory of dark matter predict that concentration of dark matter is cuspy, tending to infinity as 1/r square, or so at the centres of galaxy. Thus some mechanism must intervene to prevent dark matter getting to dense. This could be annihilation of dark matter particles in the super-symmetric models, or formation of mirror stars, in the mirror matter model.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Mathematical Backing for Mirror Matter
Mirror Matter is an alternative dark matter candidate, in which a second copy of the all the known matter particles in universe, is also present in the universe, and provides the missing mass of the universe. I've recently written about some tentative experiment evidence of mirror matter. But although experiment rules in science, in physics, good mathematically justification for a theory, also seems to count for all lot. Previously Mirror Matter is justified because it restores the symmetry between left handed and right handed particles but why should a symmetry switching handedness of a particle, form a completely right handed different particle, is not obvious. However a recently paper, show this does indeed happen. It investigates the symmetry between left handed spin 1/2 particles, described by a mathematical object known as a spinor, in Matej Pavsic's new paper, he shows that using the Clifford Algebra CL(1,3), a symmetry operation from a left-handed standard model particle, indeed forms a mirror matter right-handed particle, and not a standard model right-handed particle. So mirror matter now has some solid mathematically justification between it. Warning you'll need to understand spinor maths and clifford algebra to understand the paper.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Web ablaze with Xenon 100 experiment
The Xenon 100 experiment is a brand new dark matter experiment, with as you might expect a 100 kilograms of Xenon fluid, at the bottom of an old mine, Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy. This is so much bigger than previous experiments that just 11 days of data, are supposed enough to rule out previous positive signals at CDMS, DAMA and CoGeNT. Contraversally this was supposed to be true, even at the lower end of the mass range for dark matter particles, which traditionally detectors with heavy elements (like Xenon) are not so sensitive to. Because Xenon experiment is so new some have worried that it isn't well calibrated yet, so Xenons first result has been high controversial. More on the Xenon experiment from around the web.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Dark Iron, and Mirror Matter
Dark Iron it sounds like something drawf's mine in a fantasy game, not from something out of astrophysics but Mirror Matter Iron Nuclei is what Robert Foot claims. the CDMS II detector has discovered. Combined with his sighting of mirror electrons in the CDMS detector, and candidate of mirror oxygen atoms, in the solid DAMA results. Thing are looking up for mirror matter as a theory of dark matter.
The Theory of Mirror Matter, is just like in Alice in the looking glass, another physical matter which the same sort of atoms and proton and neutrons, and it own mirror-light, that is invisible to us. Ordinary Matter is left-handed with respect to some nuclear interactions. Mirror Matter would be right-handed with respect to it. Combining the two result a world that has regained its mirror symmetry. Ordinary light and mirror light might mix slightly, the only free parameter in Robert Foots, et al, theory, and each of this three detect results, is described by the same amount, about 1 part per billion, an amount weak enough to prevent mirror matter upsetting the big bang theory and making it quite invisible to telescopes.
Despite only a few researcher working on it, the Mirror Matter theory has impressively worked out, with results for its effects on large structure formulation, the early big bang, and how it forms a halo in the galaxy. The Mirror Matter, with all types of atoms, but a lack of hydrogen fuel for its stars, is thermalised as a plasma supported by the heat of regular mirror-supernova and perhaps accretion into the central black-hole of the galaxy.
If there is ever proof of mirror matter, Perhaps one day, physicists will amass enough mirror matter to create a mirror telescope and look out to a complete different alien sky, full of supernova relics and dense clouds that hold the other four-fifths the matter in the universe.
The Theory of Mirror Matter, is just like in Alice in the looking glass, another physical matter which the same sort of atoms and proton and neutrons, and it own mirror-light, that is invisible to us. Ordinary Matter is left-handed with respect to some nuclear interactions. Mirror Matter would be right-handed with respect to it. Combining the two result a world that has regained its mirror symmetry. Ordinary light and mirror light might mix slightly, the only free parameter in Robert Foots, et al, theory, and each of this three detect results, is described by the same amount, about 1 part per billion, an amount weak enough to prevent mirror matter upsetting the big bang theory and making it quite invisible to telescopes.
Despite only a few researcher working on it, the Mirror Matter theory has impressively worked out, with results for its effects on large structure formulation, the early big bang, and how it forms a halo in the galaxy. The Mirror Matter, with all types of atoms, but a lack of hydrogen fuel for its stars, is thermalised as a plasma supported by the heat of regular mirror-supernova and perhaps accretion into the central black-hole of the galaxy.
If there is ever proof of mirror matter, Perhaps one day, physicists will amass enough mirror matter to create a mirror telescope and look out to a complete different alien sky, full of supernova relics and dense clouds that hold the other four-fifths the matter in the universe.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Super Heavy Supernova
Supernova, or Type Ia Supernova, are cosmologists favourite "standard candle" in the universe. Theory tells us exactly how bright they are (in absolute terms), so we can tell exactly how far away they, and the galaxy that contains them are. And yes they are that bright at -19.8 absolute magnitude they can outshine a galaxy for days, the light curve decay, follows the decay of Nickel-56, half life six days, the most common radioactive element in the cloud of elements the supernova shoots out, and of Cobalt-56, half life 77 days.
The theory of Type Ia Supernova is that they consist of a White Drawf that slow gains enough extra matter to get with %1 of a white drawf massive mass 1.38 Suns, at which point the pressure from the electrons in white drawf can't support the Drawf against gravity. The interior of the White drawf collapses to a neutron star, while the exterior burns carbon and oxygen into iron and nickel which are blown into space.
News today is of a paper by Richard Scalzo, look a supernova from 2007. SN2007if, weighted the supernova by calculating amount of Nickel and Cobalt produced by fraction of its mass. The heavier that star, they move Nickel produced. And he achieves a unbelievable massive result, 2.4+/-0.2 Solar masses. A whole Solar mass above the Chandrasekhar limit, 1.38 suns, for a white drawf.
The Physics World article. wonders if they result undermines the whole measurement of dark energy, which is determined part by measurement of the speed and distance of galaxies. Most of the distances of the furthest galaxies are measured by single Type 1a Supernova, the brightest standard candle there is. If the supernova are brighter than we think they are, then they are further away, and the universe is not expanding as fast as previously measured. However one or a few rare super heavy supernova, would not upset the calculation, and would show up as outlines on the graph of speed versus distance.
What then is this super heavy supernova. One theory is that its two colliding white drawf each under the 1.38 Chasdrasekhar limit, but totaling 2.1 suns, together. This would be a very rare process plus it would likely be such a catastrophic event that the fusion process would not be very regular or complete. Another explanation is of white drawf made extra heavy by a particular type of dark matter, Mirror Matter, since mirror matter is a second copy of matter, with the same interaction in mirror form, its only mirror light and electromagnetism. A combination of ordinary and mirror matter in a white drawf, might have masses up to 2.8 Suns in a white drawf, and the neutron star mass is also increase in its equation of state, moving up, but not doubling the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit. Indeed in the Year 2000 Paper in which Robert Foot et al predicted such objects he stated: Also note that this type of fake white dwarf could have a mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses: such an object would be a smoking gun for some sort of invisible clumped matter that happens to have acquired an ordinary matter core. Indeed This superheavy supernova might be the Smoking gun he was looking for. ">Richard Scalzo's Paper see a whole four such smoking guns, SN2003 fg, SN 2006gz, SN 2007if and SN 2009dc.
It does however look like SN 2007 if, as predicted by Scalzo's paper, is the result of two colliding white dwarf, as pointed to by, evidence of an existing envelope of carbon around the stars, ejected by tidal distribution of both prior to the final collapse into a supernova. This envelope is evidence by the slowing of the explosion and also by a shell of increased density in the explosion, where the in falling or blocking envelope of material encounters the out going material.
The theory of Type Ia Supernova is that they consist of a White Drawf that slow gains enough extra matter to get with %1 of a white drawf massive mass 1.38 Suns, at which point the pressure from the electrons in white drawf can't support the Drawf against gravity. The interior of the White drawf collapses to a neutron star, while the exterior burns carbon and oxygen into iron and nickel which are blown into space.
News today is of a paper by Richard Scalzo, look a supernova from 2007. SN2007if, weighted the supernova by calculating amount of Nickel and Cobalt produced by fraction of its mass. The heavier that star, they move Nickel produced. And he achieves a unbelievable massive result, 2.4+/-0.2 Solar masses. A whole Solar mass above the Chandrasekhar limit, 1.38 suns, for a white drawf.
The Physics World article. wonders if they result undermines the whole measurement of dark energy, which is determined part by measurement of the speed and distance of galaxies. Most of the distances of the furthest galaxies are measured by single Type 1a Supernova, the brightest standard candle there is. If the supernova are brighter than we think they are, then they are further away, and the universe is not expanding as fast as previously measured. However one or a few rare super heavy supernova, would not upset the calculation, and would show up as outlines on the graph of speed versus distance.
What then is this super heavy supernova. One theory is that its two colliding white drawf each under the 1.38 Chasdrasekhar limit, but totaling 2.1 suns, together. This would be a very rare process plus it would likely be such a catastrophic event that the fusion process would not be very regular or complete. Another explanation is of white drawf made extra heavy by a particular type of dark matter, Mirror Matter, since mirror matter is a second copy of matter, with the same interaction in mirror form, its only mirror light and electromagnetism. A combination of ordinary and mirror matter in a white drawf, might have masses up to 2.8 Suns in a white drawf, and the neutron star mass is also increase in its equation of state, moving up, but not doubling the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit. Indeed in the Year 2000 Paper in which Robert Foot et al predicted such objects he stated: Also note that this type of fake white dwarf could have a mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses: such an object would be a smoking gun for some sort of invisible clumped matter that happens to have acquired an ordinary matter core. Indeed This superheavy supernova might be the Smoking gun he was looking for. ">Richard Scalzo's Paper see a whole four such smoking guns, SN2003 fg, SN 2006gz, SN 2007if and SN 2009dc.
It does however look like SN 2007 if, as predicted by Scalzo's paper, is the result of two colliding white dwarf, as pointed to by, evidence of an existing envelope of carbon around the stars, ejected by tidal distribution of both prior to the final collapse into a supernova. This envelope is evidence by the slowing of the explosion and also by a shell of increased density in the explosion, where the in falling or blocking envelope of material encounters the out going material.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Great documentary on Cosmology
Horizon tonight on the BBC, covered the mysteries of cosmology, dark matter, and dark energy, which make up much more of the universe, the conventional 'baryonic' matter we know about. It ended though with a final mystery dark flow, one a rushing of galaxy clusters at the largest scale of the universe, toward some mystery attractors, which might well be outside the now visible universe. The potential explanation, this was caused by the attraction between the then small density fluctations, just before inflation expanded the universe at a speed faster than light.
All very well presented, if a bit over the top on distracting music and big bang shaped special effects. Dark Flow however is very iffy as a real physically effect, see papers like Kiesler, who disputed the significance of the statistics, but, Edge et al which hold the effect to be real. We find out in time, once the Planck space telescope data come in, (a space telescope, with 10 times the current resolution for the cosmic background radiation), and we more detailed measurement of galaxy clusters.
Horizon, begun its episode with everything you know about the universe is wrong. But then told the usually story of dark matter and dark energy, which mainstream cosmology currently believes true. I have my own theory, of dark energy as caused by an fifth force between neutrino, which unfortunately did survive my first publication attempt. But in the next post, I attend to show why the evidence is starting to look bleak for the super-symmetric theory of dark matter.
All very well presented, if a bit over the top on distracting music and big bang shaped special effects. Dark Flow however is very iffy as a real physically effect, see papers like Kiesler, who disputed the significance of the statistics, but, Edge et al which hold the effect to be real. We find out in time, once the Planck space telescope data come in, (a space telescope, with 10 times the current resolution for the cosmic background radiation), and we more detailed measurement of galaxy clusters.
Horizon, begun its episode with everything you know about the universe is wrong. But then told the usually story of dark matter and dark energy, which mainstream cosmology currently believes true. I have my own theory, of dark energy as caused by an fifth force between neutrino, which unfortunately did survive my first publication attempt. But in the next post, I attend to show why the evidence is starting to look bleak for the super-symmetric theory of dark matter.
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