Tachyons Messengers from the future Robert Ehrlich George
Tachyons: Messengers from the future? Robert Ehrlich George Mason University http: //Ehrlich. physics. gmu. edu 1
Unfortunate uses of the word "tachyon“ (nothing to do with this talk) tachyon healing, tachyon rods tachyon energy, tachyon beads tachyon chambers, tachyon boots tachyon wellness, tachyon EMF protection tachyon superfoods, tachyon gun. Cams tachyon meditation, tachyon wristbands tachyon illumination, tachyon belts tachyon jewelry, tachyon binoculars tachyonized material testing, tachyon cameras tachyon skin care, tachyon star dust and: Tachyonized Personal Sexual Enhancement Tachyon ahead
Link between faster-than-light speed and time travel There was a young lady named Bright Whose speed was far faster than light; She set out one day In a relative way And returned on the previous night. A. H. Reginald Butler 3
“Faster-than-light speeds have no possibility of existence. ” If they did exist a beam of FTL particles could send a message back to the past – the “tachyon anti-telephone” Could Einstein have been wrong about no FTL speed? 4
Basics of relativity (1905) Based on 2 ideas: 1. Same laws of physics for all observers 2. Same speed of light in vacuum for all observers All sorts of weird conclusions follow Time is the fourth dimension Slowing down of “moving” clocks No absolute motion “Relativity of simultaneity” Time order of events can get scrambled One type of time travel is definitely possible
One way to reach FTL speed that does not work Just keep accelerating ship at “ 1 g” for about a year to reach light speed? It does not work because relativity says mass increases with speed It takes an infinite amount of energy to reach light speed 6
Nothing can go faster than light … if it travels in in vacuum … if it carries energy or information … if it started out slower than light
Quantum Entanglement of 2 particles spukhafte Fernwirkung! Information about their quantum states are so inextricably linked that finding the color of one particle can tell you about the other instantly. Does this permit FTL communication? No!
A “loophole” in relativity to allow FTL? Energy m is imaginary! Bilaniuk, O. -M. P. ; Deshpande, V. K. ; Sudarshan, E. C. G. "'Meta' Relativity". American Journal of Physics 30 718 (1962).
Hypothetical FTL particles (“tachyons”) Tachyons are consistent with equations of relativity They can never slow down below speed of light Imaginary mass means as they lose energy the speed up!? ! Light speed is a two-way barrier 3 classes of particles: tachyons, tardyons & luxons Tachyons looked for but not yet found Their existence is unknown – most physicists dubious Neutrinos are the only known possibility
Neutrinos: the most “ghostly” subatomic particles known 14
Neutrinos Very weakly interacting Can pass through a lightyear of lead without being absorbed Trillions passing through your fingertip each second Mass believed to be no more than 2 millionths that of the electron They are emitted during radioactivity (beta decay) Example of beta decay
Why are neutrinos the only tachyon candidate? Only neutrinos have masses so close to zero that within experimental uncertainty we do not know if mass is real or imaginary X Measured value of m 2 Doing experiments with neutrinos is really hard
Super-Kamiokande Neutrino detector: Currently the World’s largest Need Huge detectors Shield against all “backgrounds” Want intense sources Be patient 17
How to tell if neutrinos are tachyons? See if a beam of neutrinos can outrace photons over some distance See if high energy neutrinos take longer to travel a known distance than low energy neutrinos Measure their m 2 and see if it is negative Four additional more technical ways
Using TOF to measure speed of neutrinos 2011 claim that beam of neutrinos outraced light 732 km Oops – they found a loose cable in the timing circuit! Corrected result: Neutrino speed no different than light within uncertainties This need not mean they do not exist
Need a more sensitive speed measurement Look at neutrinos from a very short “burst” occurring a long distance away Could use an atomic bomb …. But… No very short bursts from the sun Look at the neutrino burst from a supernova, but these are quite rare in our galaxy 21
Supernova: the death of a massive star
Supernova SN 1987 A Last one seen was in 1604 AD Visible burst Only Neutrino “burst” ever seen
My “ 3+3” tachyon model In 2013 using data from SN 1987 A I published a model claiming 3 neutrino masses one of which was a tachyon Very much against the conventional thinking Subsequently various kinds of evidence has been published in support of the model An experiment now underway at the Karlseruhe Institute of technology (KIT) known as KATRIN will pronounce the ultimate verdict 24
KATRIN experiment spectrometer en route to KIT
KATRIN experiment to measure neutrino mass Cannot put subatomic particles on a scale! Count how many electrons emitted with different energy in beta decay Started taking data in March 2019 Nearly everyone expects to find m < 1 e. V My “ 3+3” model says they will find 3 much larger masses one of which is imaginary (a tachyon) First results from experiment ambiguous -- enough data within a year to tell
Tachyons and messages from the future A message claiming to be from my future self: “Do not post those nude photos from the other night!” 27
Precognition Claimed ability to receive messages from the future Not necessarily a “psychic” ability Possibilities: Phenomenon does not exist Only certain gifted people can receive messages Only occurs in extreme cases, e. g. , a premonition of disaster Signal is small & hidden by the noise Technology for receiving messages does not yet exist The technology exists but we are unaware how to use it “Feeling the future: A meta-analysis of 90 experiments on the anomalous anticipation of random future events” (2015) Daryl Bem, Patrizio Tressoldi, Thomas Rabeyron, and Michael Duggan Psychic abilities?
A Review of this talk FTL speed is connected with time travel and backward time messaging Einstein (and most physicists today) believe there are no FTL particles known as tachyons If tachyons exist neutrinos are the only candidates I have a model making a specific testable prediction about neutrinos being tachyons The KATRIN experiment now underway should decide within a year Tachyons raise the possibility of sending messages back in time 29
Sending messages back in time Questions to ponder If you got a message claiming to be from your future self, what would it take for you to believe it was real? Have you ever gotten a message from the future including a premonition that came true? What about the “grandfather paradox? ” If FTL tachyons exist does that mean you could travel at FTL speed and travel to the past? This is the subject for another talk! 30
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