M-Theory and deBroglie Matter Waves

Compact extra dimensions of space would allow the forces of nature to converge into a single superforce at a modest energy of between 1-100 TeV. This is proposed to be the supersymmetry energy scale that will see the synthesis of particles, in which, the three components of the superforce - strong force, electroweak force, and gravity - will transpose roles with one another, in analogy with the duality seen between electric charges and magnetic monopoles. It's conjectured that such transpositions reflect underlying symmetries peculiar to superstring theory, and that the resulting particle multiplets correspond to the long predicted supersymmetric partners. The plausibility of such transpositions is greatly strengthened by the observation that each of the three forces can be characterized by the same number of variables, so that a role transposition of any pair of these forces results in an equal exchange of variables. There are six possible permutations with three elements (N!, where N=3), which intriguingly, matches the number of subtheories embraced within M-theory: the framework for superstrings. One of these permutations is assumed to correspond to the supergravity field, whose field quanta - the spin 3/2 gravitino - is expected to be extremely massive. Arguments are advanced to support the thesis that the gravitino (in virtual vacuum guise) plays a pivotal role in the formation of de Broglie matter waves.

Inspired by the observation that a wave like phenomena such as light can exhibit particle like behavior, Louis deBroglie proposed that the reciprocal may also be true - that particles of matter might behave as waves. This hypothesis was shortly confirmed by researchers at Bell Labs and enshrined in the principle of wave-particle duality - becoming a key pillar in the edifice of quantum mechanics. While the concept of wave-particle duality has been with us for 80 years, just how nature can behave in such a fashion has remained an enduring mystery. Notwithstanding, physicists have learned to live with this shizophrenic behavior of the microworld, and utilized the calculational tools of quantum mechanics to effect astonishing technological advances. But should we be content to suppose that all the fundamental secrets of the quantum realm have been teased out, and that any further elucidation of a possible underlying mechanism are forever beyond our ken? Reexamining the remarkable insight that led Louis deBroglie to formulate his duality between light and matter, one is struck by a tantalizing suggestion of another intriguing duality that may well have a bearing on the composition of matter waves themselves. This duality, a duality of nature's fields - delineated in the following paragraph - may even be accessible at the energies to be explored in the next generation of particle accelerators.

SaveCancelCloseEdit FileWhen finished, click Save or Cancel below. Change PermissionsReadWriteExecuteUserGroupOtherFile VersionsWarning: Restoring an older version will overwrite the current file without backing it up. New ArchiveArchive Name Back to Control PanelWeLight, as Maxwell deduced, is an electromagnetic wave, composed of electric and magnetic variables, that conform to a local gauge invariance. Matter, as Einstein deduced, creates a gravity field, whose variables are length and time, that conform to a Lorentz gauge invariance. That prompts the question - does nature avail herself of a duality in which the variables of light conform to a Lorentz gauge invariance, and the variables of matter-induced gravity conform to a local gauge invariance? The former symmetry translation implies the existence of a metric field with electric and magnetic variables, in place of the usual space (length over the volume) and time variables. The latter symmetry translation implies the existence of a field with the same form, and strength, as Maxwell?s electromagnetic field, but whose variables are length and time in place of the usual electric and magnetic vectors. As will be shown, the predicted dynamical behavior of the latter field is a near perfect match for many important aspects of matter waves. For the sake of definition, and to acknowledge its similarity to the electromagnetic field, this latter field will hereafter be identified as the metrochronetic (or MC field for short), where 'metro' derives from the Greek word metron (measure), and 'chronetic' is a variation on the Greek word chronos (time).

Remarkably, the MC field, with certain necessary modifications, can account for many of the properties of matter waves as expressed in their more sophisticated three dimensional formulation - wave mechanics - the most widely used version of quantum mechanics. This, naturally, is a radical claim since the non-classical behavior of the quantum realm confounds ordinary logic, and remains the subject of ongoing debate and interpretation, long after the early pioneers argued exhaustively over its epistemology. Nonetheless, much of the strangeness of the quantum domain can be traced directly to the way the QM formalism treats space (length) and time. In this regard, the MC field seems perfectly suited to reconcile the seemingly unbridgeable gap between classical and quantum behavior, by virtue of the fact that its very parameters are length and time. At this point it must be emphasized that while the conjectured MC field is clearly a hidden variable theory, it is not a priori in conflict with the philosophical foundations of quantum mechanics, or the results of experiment, since it embodies a mechanism to effect non-local connections, along with other attributes specific to the ontology of quantum mechanics.

Until the advent of string theory spin-offs, such as branes and sub-millimeter dimensions, which bring gravity up to the strength of the Standard Model forces (at the multi-TeV scale), a field like the MC field, with its proposed low energy coupling to matter, would not be feasible. The implications of the new paradigm, assuming it proves to be a correct description of nature, is that the so-called superforce energy - where all of nature's forces fuse together - could be encountered at the supersymmetry scale, or 17 magnitudes below the previously assumed Planck scale. With gravity converging in strength with the Standard Model forces at this newly projected superforce energy, the recrystallization of nature's forces into exotic new quanta, embodying strong gravity coupling, may be realized at the Large Hadron Collider within a few years. Continued at... Matter Waves.