Studying gravitational waves can help find other dimensions
If other dimensions do exist, then they manifest themselves through gravitational waves, say physicists from the German Max Planck Institute.
They performed calculations that show exactly how gravitational waves should behave if other dimensions in the universe really exist. And they propose to conduct a series of experiments that will prove or disprove these assumptions.
The new hypothesis also offers a solution to one of the most important mysteries of modern physics - why gravity is weaker than the rest of the fundamental forces of nature. Thus, the new theory suggests that gravity "leaks" into other dimensions that we have not yet recorded.
Physicist Gustavo Lucena Gomez believes gravitational waves can be the key to understanding the universe
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At first glance, the universe seems quite logical when viewed in terms of four dimensions - length, width and height, as well as time. However, theoretical physicists have long predicted that there could be other dimensions. In particular, the famous string theory assumes that there are 10 dimensions.
Particle experiments show that the six dimensions missing from the traditional model could help better understand some of the processes.
Plus, string theory is not easy to dismiss as it promises a reconciliation between classical and quantum physics.
String theory suggests that quarks - the smallest particles we can detect - are actually made up of even smaller particles - energy particles that look like vibrating strings.
It is these "strings" that can explain the nature of the forces that are fundamental in the Universe, but have not received an interpretation in modern physics. For example, gravity, electromagnetism and nuclear interaction.
The main problem is that the mathematical description of "strings" involves at least 10 physical dimensions. And modern science has not yet been able to find a single new dimension.
New searches
Gustavo Lucena Gomez and David Andriot of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam, Germany, put forward the theory that gravitational waves can prove the existence of other dimensions.
Albert Einstein predicted the existence of these waves, which represent the pulsation of space-time. In 2015, they were found by researchers at the LIGO project, whose laboratories are located in Louisiana and California.
Gravitational waves predicted by Einstein were recorded in 2015 / California Institute of Technology
Gravitational waves travel through space-time at the speed of light, resulting in explosions of stars and mergers of black holes.
It is logical to assume that gravitational waves exist in all dimensions in the universe, Gomez explains.
Based on this premise, Gomez and Andriot created a mathematical model describing how other measurements should affect gravitational waves.
First, they believe that extra dimensions can manifest themselves through high-frequency gravitational waves. Second, in different dimensions, gravitational waves should have different effects on the stretching of the "tissue" of the Universe.
“If there are extra dimensions in our universe, they can stretch space-time in a way that ordinary gravitational waves cannot,” Gomez explains.
In order to test the first part of the hypothesis, very sensitive equipment is needed. Thousands of times more accurate than LIGO laboratories, which detected gravitational waves.
At the same time, with such equipment, it will not be difficult to make sure that gravitational waves of the required frequency have been found, the authors of the study emphasize, since no known astrophysical process can emit gravitational waves of such a high frequency.
If such waves are found, it will be the beginning of a new era in physics, state Gomez and Andriot.
The second sought-after factor that will prove the existence of other dimensions is the so-called "breathing mode" of gravitational waves. From the point of view of available measurements, some features of the motion of gravitational waves should appear to be anomalies, the study authors are sure.
The researchers intend to request support from laboratories with LIGO detectors to observe the same particle experiment in real time.
“In theory, the“breathing mode”deforms space-time in a certain manner, which will be a clear sign of the existence of other dimensions,” the authors of the work note.
Moreover, the presence of other dimensions could explain why gravity is the most fundamental force in nature. If gravity exists in all dimensions, it must be a weak force, because we see only a small part of it - the one that exists in the four dimensions visible to us, the researchers state.
The existence of other dimensions may be the very Holy Grail of modern physics that scientists have been searching for so long and persistently. Other measurements could lead to the creation of a unified theory of the universe, which would reconcile quantum field theory with general principles of relativity.
In such a universe, both anti-gravity and movements with a speed greater than the speed of light are possible.
Therefore, studying the nature of gravitational waves is extremely important, according to Karla Lant, a columnist for Futurism.