A newly published study explores how the recently discovered Higgs boson may provide a possible “portal” to physics that will help explain some of the attributes of dark energy.
One of the biggest mysteries in contemporary particle physics and cosmology is why dark energy, which is observed to dominate the energy density of the universe, has a remarkably small (but not zero) value. This value is so small, it is perhaps 120 orders of magnitude less than would be expected based on fundamental physics.
Resolving this problem, often called the cosmological constant problem, has so far eluded theorists.
Now, two physicists – Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University and James Dent of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette – suggest that the recently discovered Higgs boson could provide a possible “portal” to physics that could help explain some of the attributes of the enigmatic dark energy, and help resolve the cosmological constant problem.
In their paper, “Higgs Seesaw Mechanism as a Source for Dark Energy,” Krauss and Dent explore how a possible small coupling between the Higgs particle, and possible new particles likely to be associated with what is conventionally called the Grand Unified Scale – a scale perhaps 16 orders of magnitude smaller than the size of a proton, at which the three known non-gravitational forces in nature might converge into a single theory – could result in the existence of another background field in nature in addition to the Higgs field, which would contribute an energy density to empty space of precisely the correct scale to correspond to the observed energy density.
The paper was published online, August 9, in Physical Review Letters.
Current observations of the universe show it is expanding at an accelerated rate. But this acceleration cannot be accounted for on the basis of matter alone. Putting energy in empty space produces a repulsive gravitational force opposing the attractive force produced by matter, including the dark matter that is inferred to dominate the mass of essentially all galaxies, but which doesn’t interact directly with light and, therefore, can only be estimated by its gravitational influence.
Because of this phenomenon and because of what is observed in the universe, it is thought that such ‘dark energy’ contributes up to 70 percent of the total energy density in the universe, while observable matter contributes only 2 to 5 percent, with the remaining 25 percent or so coming from dark matter.
The source of this dark energy and the reason its magnitude matches the inferred magnitude of the energy in empty space is not currently understood, making it one of the leading outstanding problems in particle physics today.
“Our paper makes progress in one aspect of this problem,” said Krauss, a Foundation Professor in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics, and the director of the Origins Project at ASU. “Now that the Higgs boson has been discovered, it provides a possible ‘portal’ to physics at much higher energy scales through very small possible mixings and couplings to new scalar fields which may operate at these scales.”
“We demonstrate that the simplest small mixing, related to the ratios of the scale at which electroweak physics operates, and a possible Grand Unified Scale, produces a possible contribution to the vacuum energy today of precisely the correct order of magnitude to account for the observed dark energy,” Krauss explained. “Our paper demonstrates that a very small energy scale can at least be naturally generated within the context of a very simple extension of the standard model of particle physics.”
While a possible advance in understanding the origin of dark energy, Krauss said the construct is only one step in the direction of understanding its mysteries.
“The deeper problem of why the known physics of the standard model does not contribute a much larger energy to empty space is still not resolved,” he said.
Reference: “Higgs Seesaw Mechanism as a Source for Dark Energy” by Lawrence M. Krauss and James B. Dent, 7 August 2013, Physical Review Letters.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.061802
arXiv:1306.3239
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3 Comments
If light matter can annihilate and give birth to light energy like eat,light,gamma rays and micro waves, why not the the unknown Dark Matter also annihilate in a different way through Higgs Boson and produce plenty of dark energy to give a fill-up in ever expanding and accelerating universe? Naturally Dark energy constitutes 70% and Dark Matter makes only 26% while we mortals seeing our galaxies in the universe is only upto 4%. In a grand unifying theory, the four fields of the universe, viz., gravitational, electrostatic strong and electroweak like W+Bosons in nuclear decay, and colour forces of quarks in the protons and neutrons, there should be a complimentary fields in nature which we should work out in future.Thank You.
this will be a good idea for sure.
I think that dark matter lies only as a figment of its imagination by the legions of scientists that study such things and pass judgement on such topics without considering that we are just a flash in the pan existence of human beings living on the surface of a big round ball of dirt that circles a star which gives us all the one great shot at life, and nothing more. All the scientific mumbo jumbo in the world cannot explain all of the true and significant awe inspiring majesty of the universe and many of the glittering jewels you find there when looking at the expanse of it all. Only a being, far superior to us in all ways could conceive of and create such beauty in such a dark universe. We should not just ponder such majestic things that become visible through the lenses of a giant telescope, or one placed there out in space by human hands, but put forth a concerted effort to expand and expell as many of us humans out into space; to explore and discover what lies out there in the grat beyond, now more than ever, and before it’s too late to even try. I think we should be ferrying people Willie nilly into space, to colonize the moon and Mars and any other planet accessable and even scarcely hopeful in reaching, using what resources are available at the present time, to exit as many humans to other points of interest in the known universe as quickly as possible. Not all will make it without problems, but anything we can do to alleviate the miserable overcrowding of our little teeny ball of dirt should be undertaken with the utmost vim and vigor possible. We must clear 25% of the human parasitic population from our world, my lest we may be forlorn to evolve into empty promises of nothing worthy of trying and giving our all of the goal of reaching and achieving success in the endeavor of getting many of the populations of the planet off world, and rapidly!! The Earth cannot sustain 10 billion people for any given length of time, adding even more people to the population explosion problem only serves to quicken and hasten the demise of all men, and humankind as a whole. If Elon Musk wanted a significant notch in the annuals of history, he would “gift” the populations of the world with worthy spacecraft that anyone who wanted to could engage to exit the planet at any given time, and catch such flights for far distant planets and as much of space to discover and claim for the human race. That, and we should be sending our trash and nuclear waste into the Sun for hazardous waste disposal. It would allow for the cleanup of humans and their trash from taking the life of the Earth forever. Let’s blast everyone off world, and into great adventure!! Come on Elon, help a brother out and give me command of a bird to rocket out of here!!!
Hardone
Bremerton WA