Research on tachyons, particles thought to travel faster than light, has advanced significantly, revealing that previous inconsistencies in quantum mechanics stemmed from insufficient boundary conditions. The new framework, which takes into account both past and future states, not only solves these problems, but proposes a new type of quantum entanglement, placing tachyons as central to the creation of matter through excitations by the Higgs field. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Recent advances in tachyon theory resolve past inconsistencies by incorporating past and future states into the boundary conditions, leading to a new theory of quantum entanglement and suggesting a critical role for tachyons in the creation of matter.
Tachyons are hypothetical particles that travel at speeds greater than the speed of light. These superluminous particles are the “enfant terrible” of modern physics. Until recently, they were generally considered entities that did not fit into special relativity. However, the article just released in physics from the University of Warsaw and University of Oxford showed that many of these prejudices were unfounded. Tachyons not only do not rule out theory, but allow us to better understand their causal structure.
Superluminal motion and Tachyons
Motion at speeds exceeding the speed of light is one of the most controversial problems in physics. Hypothetical particles that could move at superluminal speeds, called tachyons (from the Greek tachys – fast, swift), are the “enfant terrible” of modern physics. Until recently, they were widely regarded as creations that did not fit into the special theory of relativity.
Challenges to Tachyon Theory in Quantum Mechanics
So far, at least three reasons for the non-existence of tachyons within the framework of quantum theory have been known. First: the ground state of the tachyon field was supposed to be unstable, which would mean that such superluminous particles would form “avalanches”. Second: a change in the inertial observer should have resulted in a change in the number of particles observed in its frame of reference, yet the existence of say seven particles cannot depend on who is looking at them. The third reason: the energy of superluminal particles could become negative.
Meanwhile, a group of authors: Jerzy Paczos, continuing his PhD studies at Stockholm University, Kacper Dębski, completing his PhD at the Faculty of Physics, Szymon Cedrowski, a final year physics student (studying in English), and four other experienced researchers: Szymon Charzyński, Krzysztof Turzyński , Andrzej Dragan (all from the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics) and Artur Ekert from the University of Oxford have just pointed out that the problems with tachyons so far have had a common cause.
It turned out that the “boundary conditions” that determine the course of physical processes include not only the initial state, but also the final state of the system. The results of an international team of researchers have just been published by a prestigious magazine Physical overview D.
Breakthrough in understanding Tachyons
Put simply: to calculate the probability of a quantum process involving tachyons, it is necessary to know not only its past initial state, but also its future final state. Once this fact was incorporated into the theory, all the previously mentioned difficulties completely disappeared and the tachyon theory became mathematically consistent. “It’s a bit like Internet advertising – one simple trick can solve your problems,” says Andrzej Dragan, the main inspiration behind the entire research effort.
“The idea that the future can influence the present instead of the present determining the future is not new in physics. Until now, however, this type of view has been a highly unorthodox interpretation of certain quantum phenomena, and this time the theory itself forced us to this conclusion. To ‘make room’ for tachyons, we had to expand the state space,” concludes Dragan.
Implications and Future of Tachyon Research
The authors also hypothesize that the expansion of the boundary conditions has its consequences: a new kind of quantum entanglement mixing the past with the future appears in the theory, which is not present in conventional particle theory. The paper also raises the question of whether the tachyons described in this way are purely a “mathematical possibility” or whether such particles are likely to be observed one day.
According to the authors, tachyons are not only a possibility, but are actually an indispensable component of the spontaneous breaking process responsible for the creation of matter. This hypothesis would mean that Higgs field excitations could travel at superluminal speeds in a vacuum before spontaneously breaking symmetry.
Link: “Covariant quantum tachyon field theory” by Jerzy Paczos, Kacper Dębski, Szymon Cedrowski, Szymon Charzyński, Krzysztof Turzyński, Artur Ekert, and Andrzej Dragan, 9 July 2024, Physical overview D.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.015006