The search for quantum gravity has gone on for 100 years, but it is not the only unification challenge in physics. Many of us believe that one day there will be a unification theory—a theory that will reconcile many divergent physical theories.
Our new article published in Physica Scripta brings new hope that such a theory exists. It demonstrates that the use of a certain mathematical object called Alena Tensor reconciles various physical theories, including general relativity, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics and continuum mechanics. Will this finally allow scientists to unify descriptions used in physics?
What is Alena Tensor?
Any movement under the influence of forces can be mathematically represented as movement along a curved path. Using differential geometry, one may equally well assume that the trajectory was straight, while the space in which the move took place is curved. It may sound complicated, but it can be assumed that there is a mathematical transformation that allows us to describe curved space-time equivalently as flat space-time where certain forces act.
It has long been suspected that such a transformation exists, although opinions on this matter are divided. Some physicists believe that the metric tensor, a mathematical object describing the curvature of space-time, is simply a feature of space-time. Some physicists, most often mathematical physicists, are of the opinion that such a transformation should exist.
Alena Tensor provides just such a transformation. In short, Alena Tensor can straighten curved space-time while preserving all conclusions from general relativity. This property alone makes Alena Tensor an extremely valuable tool, but this is just the beginning.
Alena Tensor in flat and curved space-time
We used Alena Tensor to describe a system with an electromagnetic field, obtaining three forces in flat space-time: electromagnetism (which is not surprising), “against gravity,” and radiation reaction force.
The radiation reaction force is already known in physics. It safeguards the principle of conservation of energy and ensures that the energy of an accelerating body does not exceed the energy available in the physical system.
The “against gravity” force generalizes classical Newton’s equation for gravity, providing a relativistic description of gravity in flat space-time, fully consistent with general relativity:
It faithfully reproduces the motion described in curved space-time.
This force does not act in freefall, respecting the equivalence principle.
Gravity in this description is not a force but the counteraction to gravity is.
The Alena Tensor allows for a smooth transition to the description used in the electromagnetic theory and then it turns out that:
Charged particles cannot remain at complete rest and should have spin, which agrees with quantum mechanics.
The reason for the existence of mass (and energy) of charged particles is the magnetic moment.
The above result basically explains what matter is, although so far it only applies to charged elementary particles and requires generalization to other fields.
The Alena Tensor also allows a smooth transition to the equations of general relativity. The obtained results provide some answers to the questions that have long puzzled physicists, concerning, e.g., singularities of black holes, cosmological constant, dark energy and dark matter.
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Do we finally have quantum gravity?
Most mainstream efforts in the search for quantum gravity so far have focused on trying to translate the laws of quantum mechanics to curved space-time. Alena Tensor completely reverses this approach. It is much easier now to describe gravity in flat space-time in a way that mathematically reproduces general relativity and then uses the known tools of quantum mechanics.
Therefore, in the article we derived quantum equations describing the entire physical system with all previously mentioned forces. It turns out that these are three currently known main quantum equations. This leads to the completely surprising conclusion: It would mean that gravity has been present in quantum mechanics from the very beginning. It must be admitted that probably no one expected such a solution to the puzzle. In the article we also explain why it was so hard to spot gravity in quantum equations.
What happens next?
There are interesting times ahead, but no one should expect an immediate revolution. Science does not develop at the pace of messages on social networks. It will take several months for this research paper to get noticed, several months before researchers take an interest in it, read it and use its results. It also takes many months to conduct and describe research using the new mathematical apparatus, then go through the peer review process and publish it.
In the first articles, we should expect attempts to falsify Alena Tensor, because in physics, like in all science, we need to be sure that our next steps lead in the right direction. If falsification deceives and further research and experiments confirm the results obtained from Alena Tensor, we may hope that in the next three to 10 years, this will lead to the unification and reconciliation of many descriptions currently used in physics.
It is also entirely possible that the article will go unnoticed or no one will pursue further research, as has happened many times before with innovations in science. Contrary to popular belief, for most readers, the innovation of the article is a disadvantage—it is harder to read, understand and accept. The difficulties during the long publication process also indicate that many scientific journals see too much risk in publishing innovative research, especially if its authors are not widely known scientists.
Fortunately, this article was eventually published by a highly respected and inclusive journal that assesses the scientific value higher than non-meritorious criteria, for which I would like to publicly express my highest respect. The editor and reviewers provided constructive criticism, and their substantive comments helped to significantly improve the article, exactly the way science should function. However, it seems that research on non-mainstream methods of unifying physics (and Alena Tensor is one) may require much more time and perseverance.
The hope remains that future generations of physicists will complete the development of this method despite the obstacles, and in 20 to 40 years, Alena Tensor will inspire the scientific community to unify physics.
This story is part of Science X Dialog, where researchers can report findings from their published research articles. Visit this page for information about Science X Dialog and how to participate.
More information:
Piotr Ogonowski et al, Alena Tensor in unification applications, Physica Scripta (2024). DOI: 10.1088/1402-4896/ad98ca
Piotr Ogonowski, is Lecturer at Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland, with almost 30 years of experience as a lecturer, author of a series of lectures and trainings, researcher, and author of publications in physics and management. In 2010, he was selected as one of the four experts consulting planned changes in the rules for co-financing innovative projects from EU funds in Poland. In the years 2018–2022, he was a member of the expert group in auxiliary body at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland.
Citation:
Alena Tensor—a new hope for unification in physics (2024, December 10)
