Physics Of Reality, The: Space, Time, Matter, Cosmos - Proceedings Of The 8th Symposium Honoring Mathematical Physicist Jean-pierre Vigier

Space, Time, Matter, Cosmos

Richard L Amoroso, Louis H Kauffman, Peter Rowlands

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9789814504799
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Cosmology

A truly Galilean-class volume, this book introduces a new method in theory formation, completing the tools of epistemology. It covers a broad spectrum of theoretical and mathematical physics by researchers from over 20 nations from four continents. Like Vigier himself, the Vigier symposia are noted for addressing avant-garde, cutting-edge topics in contemporary physics. Among the six proceedings honoring J.-P. Vigier, this is perhaps the most exciting one as several important breakthroughs are introduced for the first time. The most interesting breakthrough in view of the recent NIST experimental violations of QED is a continuation of the pioneering work by Vigier on tight bound states in hydrogen. The new experimental protocol described not only promises empirical proof of large-scale extra dimensions in conjunction with avenues for testing string theory, but also implies the birth of the field of unified field mechanics, ushering in a new age of discovery. Work on quantum computing redefines the qubit in a manner that the uncertainty principle may be routinely violated. Other breakthroughs occur in the utility of quaternion algebra in extending our understanding of the nature of the fermionic singularity or point particle. There are several other discoveries of equal magnitude, making this volume a must-have acquisition for the library of any serious forward-looking researchers.

Contents:

• Foundational Physics
• Special and General Relativity
• Thermodynamics, Fields, and Gravity
• Quantum Mechanics
• Cosmology and Consciousness

Readership: Students and professionals in physics.
Key Features:

• Prominent authors such as mathematician L H Kauffman and internationally renowned knot theorist Walter Schempp (the grandson of Kepler and an NMR pioneer)
• For nearly 20 years, the Vigier symposium has been internationally and uniquely known for its unbridled foray into cutting-edge topics that physicists want to address. This is because it believes that advancement in science does not occur by ‘hugging the status quo’
• This volume differs from the others especially in its unique treatment of historical dilemmas such as the nature of the singularity or point particle, the introduction of a relativistic qubit beyond the usual Bloch sphere model, and the studies of complex space and new cosmological models — to cite a few examples

Some Thoughts on Redshift and Modern Cosmology

JEREMY DUNNING-DAVIES^a,b

^aInstitute for Theoretical Physics and Advanced Mathematics (IFM) Einstein-Galilei,
Via Santa Gonda, 14 - 59100 Prato, Italy
^bInstitute for Basic Research, Palm Harbor, Florida, U.S.A.
[email protected]

RICHARD L. AMOROSO

Noetic Advanced Studies Institute,
Escalante Desert, Beryl, UT 84714-5104 USA
[email protected], www.noeticadvancedstudies.us

In recent years, more and more problems have arisen over the usual interpretation of the observed redshift. Much of this originated with observations made by Halton Arp but the questions raised by his work, although dismissed perfunctorily by many at the time and since, have not disappeared; the questions still demand answers. On top of this worry for orthodox astrophysics/cosmology, more and more questions seem to be arising concerning the observed presence of magnetic fields and electric currents in space. The latter questions are being addressed by laboratories working on experimental plasma physics but, considering the work of many years by such as Anthony Peratt, it might be wondered if all this work is necessary or, indeed, if much of it has been done already?

Keywords: Cosmology, Lorentz force, Quasars, Redshift

1. Introduction

The 2008 book Facts and Speculations in Cosmology by Jayant Narlikar and the late Geoffrey Burbidge [1] ends with the query

Do we really understand the nature of the redshift? This query is all the more devastating when one considers the central position the notion of redshift occupies in astrophysics, astronomy and cosmology. These three fields of scientific endeavour are cited separately here to emphasise the fundamental importance of the stated query. The whole notion of redshift is central to so many aspects of these three areas of scientific endeavour and it is worth reflecting further on this comment for a moment. It is redshift which is an important factor behind so much of our determination of distance in the Universe; it is redshift which is behind the idea that our Universe is expanding; it is redshift which is a factor in the introduction of the notion of so-called dark matter. A moment’s contemplation indicates that this list, though short, is indeed formidable and even the three examples cited here bring instant realisation of the importance of the concept of redshift in modern science but, for the present purpose, attention will be restricted to the first example, the determination of distance in the Universe.

2. Some Comments on Redshift

As is well known, there are several possible contributions to the redshift observed on any one occasion but the one on which attention is usually focussed is that due to the so-called Doppler effect – a frequency change in waves occasioned by relative movement between source and observer, with a decrease in frequency, or redshift, indicating movement of the source away from the observer. Hence, the redshift is inextricably linked to the motion of the source but, following the work of Hubble in the first quarter of the twentieth century, a further link became apparent. Hubble had been working for some time estimating the distances to various galaxies when he realised that the higher the value of the radial velocity of a galaxy as indicated by its redshift, the farther away it was according to the distance determination methods used. This observation led eventually to the establishment of the well-known distance – redshift relationship, which has proved so useful over the years. Originally the relationship applied to nearby regions but has been assumed to hold for our entire Universe. Considering the problems facing investigators in examining the Universe, this is not really an unreasonable assumption to make but it is still an assumption and so, could be false. Of course, much the same is true of assuming Newton’s laws applicable throughout the Universe and that assumed validity has, in fact, been challenged

However, whether or not it is valid to extend regions of validity in this cavalier manner, the biggest challenge to the relationship possibly arises through major questions concerning the interpretation of the observed redshift.

3. The Observations of Halton Arp

One important class of objects to be considered in the present context is provided by the quasars; the most ‘distant’ quasars are thought to have redshifts far in excess of those for the furthest galaxies. It is accepted by many that there were far more quasars and, indeed, radio galaxies in the past than there are now. However, this whole question is, or should be, a completely open one. Many seem to give the impression that everything in this area is absolutely clear cut and anyone opposing the generally accepted view is to be ignored as lacking in understanding of the truth. Frankly this appears to be the view adopted in the corridors of conventional wisdom towards the work and ideas of Halton Arp. While able to make use of the most powerful of telescopes, Arp also discovered that many pairs of quasars which possess extremely high redshift values appear to be associated physically with galaxies having much lower redshift values; galaxies, in fact, which are known to be much closer to the earth than the redshift values of the quasars concerned would imply. This all follows from the Hubble law which indicates that objects having high redshift values must be receding from the earth very quickly and, therefore, must be found at large distances from the earth. Hence, Arp was faced with the intriguing question of how objects with totally different redshift values, objects which according to ‘conventional wisdom’ had to be located at totally different distances from the earth, could be physically associated – in some instances, Arp’s photographs actually showed a physical bridge between the quasars and the associated galaxy. As has been recorded many times, Arp has many photographs of pairs of quasars, with high redshifts, symmetrically located on either side of low redshift galaxies. It has to be noted that these pairings occur far more often than the probability of random placement would allow. Of course, the main problem with Arp’s photographs is that according to orthodox theorists, high redshift objects must be at a great distance from the earth; to them high redshift is effectively a measurement of distance from the earth. It is often claimed by the advocates of ‘conventional wisdom’ that Arp’s statistical analysis is in error; after many years, this still seems to be the main line of attack on his work. However, from all the accumulated evidence it seems there is no satisfactory foundation for criticising Arp’s work on the basis of the statistics involved, and that seems to be the only criticism actually offered. Much of Arp’s work is well-documented in his book Seeing Red [2] and reference should be made to this work for further details of the specific points involved.

As might be expected, this work of Arp’s has not been welcomed by the orthodox astronomical community because, if accepted, it casts severe doubt on the assumption, which is quite basic to most, if not all, of accepted cosmological theory, that objects possessing a high redshift must be far away from the earth. Whether people approve of his work or not, it is undoubtedly true that Arp’s work raises serious questions about the present state of cosmological theory and to ignore these questions, as some would advocate, should not be an option for any serious investigator in the field. It is also undeniably true that serious questions about the true interpretation of observed redshifts remain and must be addressed with open minds if real progress is to be made. However, a new method to determine distances in space has been announced recently [3]. This proposal, involves the possible use of quasars as standard candles. Once again, though, the concept of redshift appears central to the discussion. Hence, interesting and valuable as this reported work may be, it does seem its real usefulness will depend on a correct understanding of redshifts observed. Therefore, all in all, it is seen that probably the most important question facing cosmology concerns the correct meaning of this concept of redshift – something which initially seemed so simple to interpret.

On top of this, though, various other questions have arisen but the importance of these has frequently been played down by the scientific press. Most of these depend on observations of magnetic fields and electric currents in space and one problem with many is that, in all likelihood, the experiments proposed to help solve the associated problems have been carried out and documented already.

4. Magnetic Fields in Space

On 5^th December, NASA announced that its Voyager 1 spacecraft had entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space [4]. In this announcement, one of the more interesting comments is that "Voyager has detected a 100-fold increase in the intensity of high-energy electrons from elsewhere in the galaxy diffusing into our solar system from outside”. This comment is of interest because, apart from the word 'diffusing', it describes what the electrical model of our universe expects in the virtual cathode region of the solar discharge boundary.

Also, on 6^th December, it was revealed that a new all-sky map shows the magnetic fields of the Milky Way with the highest precision [5]. It was claimed that the origin of galactic magnetic fields remains unknown despite intensive research, although it was seemingly assumed that they are constructed via dynamo processes such as are said to occur – in violation of Cowling’s well-known theorem incidentally – in the interiors of the Earth and the Sun.

Some years ago, in an entirely different context, Sir Winston Churchill advised people to learn from the lessons of history and, in the present context, it might seem appropriate to follow this advice in astrophysics. Hence, in this spirit, it might be noted that, following the introduction of Newton’s mechanical ideas, work still proceeded apace investigating electromagnetic phenomena and this continued at least into the earlier years of the twentieth century, as is evidenced by the contents of J. J. Thomson’s book Electricity and Matter [6]. However, this book provides but one example to illustrate the very real emphasis on work involving the effects of the electric and magnetic fields, work which, incidentally, constantly sought an explanation for the concept of mass in terms of those forces. However, after those early years of the century, the emphasis seems to have shifted to explanations of phenomena purely in terms of gravitational effects. Considering that it is accepted that much of the matter in the universe is in the form of plasma, this might be thought a retrograde step. One may only speculate as to why the emphasis of much scientific research changed in this way. ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• Contents
• Section I Foundational Physics
• Section II Special and General Relativity
• Section III Thermodynamics, Fields, and Gravity
• Section IV Quantum Mechanics
• Section V Cosmology and Consciousness
• Index