The new quantum theory of gravity brings together the “theory of all that is close”

Finally, a unified theory combining gravity with other fundamental forces – electromagnetism and strong and weak nuclear forces – is at hand. Bringing gravity into the lap was the aim of the generations of physicists, who had a hard time reconciling the incompatibility of two cornerstone of modern physics: the theory of the quantum field and the theory of the gravity of Einstein.

Researchers at the University of Aalto have developed a new quantum theory of gravity that describes severity in a way compatible with the standard model of particle physics, opening the door to a better understanding of how the universe began.

Although the world of theoretical physics may seem far from applicable technology, the results are remarkable. Modern technology is built on such fundamental advances – for example, the GPS of your smartphone works thanks to the theory of gravity of Einstein.

Mikko Parten and Jukka Tulkki describe their new theory in an article published in Relations on progress in physics. The main author Smart is expecting that in a few years, the conclusions will have a critical understanding unlocked.

“If it turns out to lead to a complete theory of the quantum field of gravity, it will eventually give answers to the very difficult problems of understanding singularities in black holes and Big Bang,” he said.

“A theory that coherently describes all the fundamental forces of nature is often called the theory of everything,” explains Partenn, although he does not like to use the term itself. “Some fundamental questions of physics remain unanswered. For example, current theories do not yet explain why there is more material than antimatter in the observable universe.”

Reconcile the irreconcilable

The key was to find a way to describe gravity in an appropriate gauge theory – a kind of theory in which particles interact with each other through a field.

“The most familiar gauge field is the electromagnetic field. When the electrically charged particles interact with each other, they interact through the electromagnetic field, which is the relevant gauge field,” explains Tulkki.

“So when we have particles that have energy, the interactions they simply have because they have energy would occur through the gravitational field.”

A challenge to long -term physicists is to find a theory of the gravity of the gauge which is compatible with the theories of gauge of the other fundamental forces – electromagnetic force, low nuclear force and high nuclear force. The standard model of particle physics is a theory of the gauge that describes these three forces, and it has certain symmetries.

“The main idea is to have a theory of the gravity gauge with a symmetry similar to the symmetry of the standard model, instead of base the theory on the very different type of spatial symmetry of general relativity,” explains the main author of the study.

Without such theory, physicists cannot reconcile our two most powerful theories, the theory of quantum fields and general relativity. Quantum theory describes the world of very small – dull particles interacting in a probabilistic way – while general relativity describes the larger world of familiar objects and their gravitational interaction.

These are descriptions of our universe from different angles, and the two theories have been confirmed to extraordinary precision – but they are incompatible with each other. In addition, because gravitational interactions are low, more precision is necessary to study real effects of quantum gravity beyond general relativity, which is a classic theory.

“A quantum theory of gravity is necessary to understand what type of phenomena there is in cases where there is a gravitational field and high energies”, explains Shavpie. These are the conditions around black holes and in the very first universe, just after the Big Bang – where existing theories in physics cease to work.

Always fascinated by very big questions of physics, he discovered a new approach based on the symmetry of the theory of gravity and began to develop the idea more with Tulkki. The resulting work has great potential to unlock a whole new era of scientific understanding, in the same way that understanding of gravity has opened the way to the creation of GPS.

Open invitation to the scientific community

Although the theory is promising, the duo stresses that they have not yet completed their proof. The theory uses a technical procedure known as Renomization, a mathematical way of dealing with the infinies which appear in the calculations.

So far, Partanen and Tulkki have shown that it works to a certain point – for the so -called “first order” terms – but they must ensure that infinity can be eliminated throughout the calculation.

“If renormalization does not work for higher order terms, you will get infinite results. It is therefore essential to show that this continuous renormalization of functioning,” explains Tulkki. “We still have to prove complete proof, but we think it is very likely that we will succeed.”

Partann agrees. There are still challenges to come, he says, but over time and efforts, he expects to be overcome. “I can’t say when, but I can say that we will know much more about it in a few years.”

For the moment, they have published the theory as is, so that the rest of the scientific community can familiarize themselves with it, check its results, help develop it more and develop it.

“Like quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity before it, we hope that our theory will open countless avenues for scientists to explore,” concludes Shavplus.