arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Burra G. Sidharth.
Though the concept of a dark energy driven accelerating universe was introduced by the author in 1997, to date dark energy itself, as described below has remained a paradigm. A model for the cosmological constant is suggested.
In this paper we consider solutions of the Dirac equation at ultra high energies. The study provides new insights including features overlooked thus far and also new ramifications.
Neutrinos are the weirdest of elementary particles, nearly massless and chiral. They oscillate between flavours, furthermore. We try to find a rationale for this maverick behaviour.
We revisit considerations of temporal order in relativistic effects, taking into account Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. We then use a formulation of relativistic Quantum Mechanical equations given by Feshbach and Villars to exhibit novel particle antiparticle effects.
We develop an iso spin like formulation with particles and their anti particle counterparts. This leads to a new shortlived interaction between them, valid at very high energies and mediated by massive particles. We point out that evidence for this is already suggested by the very recent observations by the CDF team at Fermi Lab.
We review some recent studies of particle-antiparticle behaviour (including proton-antiproton) at high energies, which suggest a new short lived interaction between them. We then examine the latest evidence from the CDF team at Fermi Lab which bears out this result to a little above $3 σ$ level.
We revisit the negative energy solutions of the Dirac equation, which become relevant at very high energies and study several symmetries which follow therefrom. The consequences are briefly examined.
Astronomical observations were used as a marker for time and the Calendar from ancient times. A more subtle calibration of epochs is thrown up by an observation of the position of the solstices and equinoxes, because these points shift in the sky with the years resulting in the gradual shift of celestial longitudes $λ$. Chronology based on such observations however needs to be backed up by hard evidence. We match both to take us back to $10,000$ B.C., the epi-paleolithic period, and the beginning of civilization itself.
The twentieth century has thrown up exotic concepts -- dark matter, gravity waves, Higgs Bosons, Magnetic Monopoles and so on. The sad truth is that even after several decades, these remain elusive to observation and experiment. Some are now questioning these conjectures. Their verification has become a matter more of hope than conviction. We will examine some alternatives in the light of the above pointing out that, on the other hand, an extra neutrino, recently predicted by the author may have just been discovered.
We consider the problem of distance between two particles in the universe, where space is taken to be Liebnizian rather than Newtonian, this being the present day approach. We then argue that with latest inputs from physics, it is possible to define such a distance in a topological sense.
We consider two problems that have vexed physicists for several decades -- dark matter and the cosmological constant. The problem has been that the former has not been detected while the latter gives a far higher value than detected by observation. We argue that a time varying gravitational constant obviates the former problem, while the latter problem can be circumvented by considering the average density of the universe.
Numerous observations and studies suggest that the universe has some sort of overall rotation. We consider this matter and provide a new angle.
Modifications in the energy momentum dispersion laws due to a noncommutative geometry, have been considered in recent years. We examine the oscillations of extended objects in this perspective and find that there is now a "generation" of energy.
We consider a model for an underpinning of the universe: there are oscillators at the Planck scale in the background dark energy. Starting from a coherent array of such oscillators it is possible to get a description from elementary particles to Black Holes including the usual Hawking-Beckenstein theory. There is also a description of Gravitation in the above model which points to a unified description with electromagnetism.
We consider the behavior of the particles at ultra relativistic energies, for both the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations. We observe that the usual description is valid for energies such that we are outside the particle's Compton wavelength. For higher energies however, both the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations get modified and this leads to some new effects for the particles, including the appearance of anti particles with a slightly different energy.
Chirality or the property that distinguishes lefthandedness from righthandedness is an important aspect of the universe, starting from neutrinos, which are lefthanded. Fifteen years ago the author had proposed that life on the earth was formed through a dual process -- several key ingredients being transported from outer space to the earth by comets or meteorites and these in turn interacting with compounds already cooked up in the earth's seas. Several recent observations point to the fact that the amino acids brought out to the earth by meteorites are lefthanded, as in terrestrial life forms. Experiments in the laboratory however throw up equal numbers of lefthanded and righthanded amino acids, what are called racemic mixtures. Not only would the latest observations endorse this dual mode theory of the origin of life, but on the other hand it would point to the key trigger for life processes itself. This is because racemic mixtures are not optically active, unlike the handed or chiral constituents. It is this activity of harnessing solar radiation and converting it into chemical energy, and storing this in the sugar bonds, as in photosynthesis, that characterizes life.
The author's work over the past years has indicated that the photon has a small mass $\sim 10^{-33}eV$. Recent observations from three different viewpoints -- the time lag in cosmic gamma rays with different frequencies, the observation of the spectra of blazars and an analysis of the CMB power supression from the WMAP data -- all vindicate this conclusion and remarkably, the same value.
We consider a model for an underpinning of the universe: there are oscillators at the Planck scale in the background dark energy. Starting from a coherent array of such oscillators it is possible to get a description from elementary particles to Black Holes including the usual Hawking-Beckenstein theory. There is also a description of Gravitation in the above model which points to a unified description with electromagnetism.