A new theoretical study discovers that gravity could have had the capacity to create light in the early universe.
From Massless to Massive?
According to Live Science, gravity can create light if space-time has the right behavior.
In typical circumstances, one cannot expect something to result from nothing. More specifically, the Standard Model of Particle Physics does not allow massless particles to turn into massive ones. Such a model is the reigning theory for explaining subatomic particles.
According to this standard model, particles keep on changing into each other through different processes and reactions. However, photons, which are massless light carriers, usually cannot alter into different kinds of particles. Nevertheless, under the right conditions, this may just be possible.
For one, when photons interact with an atom that is heavy, it may break down to become a positron and electron, which are both massive particles.
Considering this famous example, researchers wanted to see if gravity itself could turn into other particles. Their study was posted on the preprint server arXiv.
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Gravity Particles
Gravity is often understood in the light of general relativity, wherein space-time warps and bends and affects particle motion. In such a picture, it would be hard to know how gravity might create particles.
However, gravity can also be seen in the light of quantum physics. The force could be facilitated by a vast number of invisible graviton particles. Though this quantum gravity picture is still lacking, gravitons should be like other fundamental particles. With this, they could also have the ability to transform.
Gravity Can Create Light
To delve deeper into the idea, the researchers looked into the early universe's conditions. They discovered that, in such a setup, gravitational waves played a vital role. Though these gravitational waves are normally weak, they could have been very strong in the early universe. BGR reports that these waves could have been so intense to the point where they produced radiation due to how strongly they shook space-time.
Such waves could have amplified themselves as they moved back and forth. Anything across the universe could have been caught up in these pushes and pulls. As a result, a resonance effect could have taken place.
BGR also adds that, according to some scientists, gravitational waves back in the early universe could have stayed frozen in place and carried huge amounts of energy in a single location. These scientists suggest that such areas could have excited the electromagnetic field of the universe. This could have led to the creation of light and radiation.
However, the researchers discovered that the process is generally inefficient. Given how the early universe was expanding, gravitational wave patterns could not have lasted as long. Nevertheless, they did discover that, if the early universe held enough matter for light speed to be reduced, such waves could have remained long enough to generate a flood of more photons.
The notion that gravity can create light is an entirely new concept for scientists and now serves as an addition to the rich tapestry. BGR notes that there is no doubt that scientists would like to explore these possibilities even more. Looking into the full implications of this process may foster new revolutions about the early universe.
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