By C. J. De Mel, Jadetimes News
The universe, which has existed for an impressive 13.7 billion years, may appear stable. However, recent experiments suggest that it is precariously balanced, primarily due to the instability of a single fundamental particle: the Higgs boson.
New research, recently accepted for publication in Physical Letters B, reveals that some models of the early universe involving objects known as light primordial black holes are unlikely to be accurate. These models, if true, would have already triggered a catastrophic end to the cosmos via the Higgs boson.
The Higgs boson plays a crucial role in the mass and interactions of all known particles. Particle masses result from interactions with a field called the Higgs field, confirmed by the existence of the Higgs boson. This field can be visualized as a perfectly still water bath that permeates the entire universe, providing uniform properties and allowing consistent physical laws to be observed across millennia.
However, the Higgs field is not in its lowest possible energy state. Theoretically, it could transition to a lower energy state, drastically altering the laws of physics in that region. This phase transition would create bubbles of space with entirely different physics, disrupting fundamental interactions such as those involving electrons, protons, and neutrons. The impact on matter would be profound and likely catastrophic.
Recent measurements from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN indicate that such an event might be possible, albeit not imminent. The universe is considered "meta-stable," suggesting that while a phase transition is possible, it is unlikely to occur anytime soon.
For a phase transition to occur, the Higgs field requires a catalyst. Quantum mechanics allows for the energy of the Higgs to fluctuate, and these fluctuations can potentially form bubbles, although this is statistically rare. However, in the presence of external energy sources such as strong gravitational fields or hot plasma, the field can more easily form bubbles.
The extreme conditions shortly after the Big Bang pose a significant question for cosmology: could these environments have triggered such bubbling? Despite the high energy available then, thermal effects likely stabilized the Higgs field, preventing a phase transition and allowing the universe to persist.
Primordial black holes, however, present a different scenario. These hypothetical black holes, formed from dense regions of spacetime in the early universe, differ from stellar black holes. They could be as light as a gram and their existence is suggested by many theoretical models of cosmic evolution post-Big Bang.
Stephen Hawking's work in the 1970s demonstrated that black holes evaporate slowly due to quantum mechanical effects, emitting radiation through their event horizon. This Hawking radiation means lighter black holes are hotter and evaporate faster than their massive counterparts. Primordial black holes lighter than a few thousand billion grams would have evaporated by now.
In the presence of the Higgs field, evaporating primordial black holes would act like impurities in a fizzy drink, facilitating bubble formation through their gravitational effects and Hawking radiation. These hot spots would constantly induce Higgs field bubbling.
However, the continued existence of the universe suggests that such primordial black holes never existed. This finding challenges cosmological scenarios predicting their existence unless future evidence reveals their past presence in ancient radiation or gravitational waves. Such a discovery would imply unknown factors about the Higgs boson, potentially indicating new particles or forces that prevent bubbling.
This research underscores the vast unknowns in understanding the universe at its smallest and largest scales.
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