Big Bang or Big Bounce?

: New Theory on the Universe's Birth

Our universe may have started not with a big bang but with a big bouncean implosion
that triggered an explosion all driven by exotic !uantum"gravitational e##ects
By $artin Bo%owald
&toms are now such a commonplace idea that it is hard to remember how radical they
used to seem' (hen scientists #irst hypothesi)ed atoms centuries ago they despaired o#
ever observing anything so small and many !uestioned whether the concept o# atoms
could even be called scienti#ic' *radually however evidence #or atoms accumulated and
reached a tipping point with &lbert +instein,s -./0 analysis o# Brownian motion the
random %ittering o# dust grains in a #luid' +ven then it too1 another 2/ years #or
physicists to develop a theory explaining atomsnamely !uantum mechanicsand
another 3/ #or physicist +rwin $4ller to ma1e the #irst microscope images o# them'
Today entire industries are based on the characteristic properties o# atomic matter'
5hysicists, understanding o# the composition o# space and time is #ollowing a similar
path but several steps behind' 6ust as the behavior o# materials indicates that they consist
o# atoms the behavior o# space and time suggests that they too have some #ine"scale
structureeither a mosaic o# spacetime 7atoms8 or some other #iligree wor1' $aterial
atoms are the smallest indivisible units o# chemical compounds9 similarly the putative
space atoms are the smallest indivisible units o# distance' They are generally thought to
be about -/:30 meter in si)e #ar too tiny to be seen by today,s most power#ul
instruments which probe distances as short as -/:-; meter' <onse!uently many
scientists !uestion whether the concept o# atomic spacetime can even be called scienti#ic'
Undeterred other researchers are coming up with possible ways to detect such atoms
indirectly'
The most promising involve observations o# the cosmos' =# we imagine rewinding the
expansion o# the universe bac1 in time the galaxies we see all seem to converge on a
single in#initesimal point: the big bang singularity' &t this point our current theory o#
gravity+instein,s general theory o# relativitypredicts that the universe had an in#inite
density and temperature' This moment is sometimes sold as the beginning o# the
universe the birth o# matter space and time' >uch an interpretation however goes too
#ar because the in#inite values indicate that general relativity itsel# brea1s down' To
explain what really happened at the big bang physicists must transcend relativity' (e
must develop a theory o# !uantum gravity which would capture the #ine structure o#
spacetime to which relativity is blind'
The details o# that structure came into play under the dense conditions o# the primordial
universe and traces o# it may survive in the present"day arrangement o# matter and
radiation' =n short i# spacetime atoms exist it will not ta1e centuries to #ind the evidence
as it did #or material atoms' (ith some luc1 we may 1now within the coming decade'
5ieces o# >pace
5hysicists have devised several candidate theories o# !uantum gravity each applying
!uantum principles to general relativity in a distinct way' $y wor1 #ocuses on the theory
o# loop !uantum gravity ?7loop gravity8 #or short@ which was developed in the -../s
using a two"step procedure' Airst theorists mathematically re#ormulated general relativity
to resemble the classical theory o# electromagnetism9 the eponymous 7loops8 o# the
theory are analogues o# electric and magnetic #ield lines' >econd #ollowing innovative
procedures some that are a1in to the mathematics o# 1nots they applied !uantum
principles to the loops' The resulting !uantum gravity theory predicts the existence o#
spacetime atoms Bsee 7&toms o# >pace and Time8 by Cee >molin9 >cienti#ic &merican
6anuary 2//DE'
Other approaches such as string theory and so"called causal dynamical triangulations do
not predict spacetime atoms per se but suggest other ways that su##iciently short distances
might be indivisible Bsee 7The *reat <osmic Foller"<oaster Fide8 by <li## Burgess and
Aernando Guevedo9 >cienti#ic &merican November 2//H and 7The >el#"Organi)ing
Guantum Universe8 by 6an &mb%Irn 6er)y 6ur1iewic) and Fenate Coll9 >cienti#ic
&merican 6ulyE' The di##erences among these theories have given rise to controversy but
to my mind the theories are not contradictory so much as complementary' >tring theory
#or example is very use#ul #or a uni#ied view o# particle interactions including gravity
when it is wea1' Aor the purpose o# disentangling what happens at the singularity where
gravity is strong the atomic constructions o# loop gravity are more use#ul'
The theory,s power is its ability to capture the #luidity o# spacetime' +instein,s great
insight was that spacetime is no mere stage on which the drama o# the universe un#olds' =t
is an actor in its own right' =t not only determines the motion o# bodies within the
universe but it evolves' & complicated interplay between matter and spacetime ensues'
>pace can grow and shrin1'
Coop gravity extends this insight into the !uantum realm' =t ta1es our #amiliar
understanding o# particles o# matter and applies it to the atoms o# space and time
providing a uni#ied view o# our most basic concepts' Aor instance the !uantum theory o#
electromagnetism describes a vacuum devoid o# particles such as photons and each
increment o# energy added to this vacuum generates a new particle' =n the !uantum
theory o# gravity a vacuum is the absence o# spacetimean emptiness so thorough we
can scarcely imagine it' Coop gravity describes how each increment o# energy added to
this vacuum generates a new atom o# spacetime'
The spacetime atoms #orm a dense ever shi#ting mesh' Over large distances their
dynamism gives rise to the evolving universe o# classical general relativity' Under
ordinary conditions we never notice the existence o# these spacetime atoms9 the mesh
spacing is so tight that it loo1s li1e a continuum' But when spacetime is pac1ed with
energy as it was at the big bang the #ine structure o# spacetime becomes a #actor and the
predictions o# loop gravity diverge #rom those o# general relativity'
&ttracted to Fepulsion
&pplying the theory is an extremely complex tas1 so my colleagues and = use simpli#ied
versions that capture the truly essential #eatures o# the universe such as its si)e and
ignore details o# lesser interest' (e have also had to adapt many o# the standard
mathematical tools o# physics and cosmology' Aor instance theoretical physicists
commonly describe the world using di##erential e!uations which speci#y the rate o#
change o# physical variables such as density at each point in the spacetime continuum'
But when spacetime is grainy we instead use so"called di##erence e!uations which brea1
up the continuum into discrete intervals' These e!uations describe how a universe climbs
up the ladder o# si)es that it is allowed to ta1e as it grows' (hen = set out to analy)e the
cosmological implications o# loop gravity in -... most researchers expected that these
di##erence e!uations would simply reproduce old results in disguise' But unexpected
#eatures soon emerged'
*ravity is typically an attractive #orce' & ball o# matter tends to collapse under its own
weight and i# its mass is su##iciently large gravity overpowers all other #orces and
compresses the ball into a singularity such as the one at the center o# a blac1 hole' But
loop gravity suggests that the atomic structure o# spacetime changes the nature o# gravity
at very high energy densities ma1ing it repulsive' =magine space as a sponge and mass
and energy as water' The porous sponge can store water but only up to a certain amount'
Aully soa1ed it can absorb no more and instead repels water' >imilarly an atomic
!uantum space is porous and has a #inite amount o# storage space #or energy' (hen
energy densities become too large repulsive #orces come into play' The continuous space
o# general relativity in contrast can store a limitless amount o# energy'
Because o# the !uantum"gravitational change in the balance o# #orces no singularityno
state o# in#inite densitycan ever arise' &ccording to this model matter in the early
universe had a very high but #inite density the e!uivalent o# a trillion suns in every
proton"si)e region' &t such extremes gravity acted as a repulsive #orce causing space to
expand9 as densities moderated gravity switched to being the attractive #orce we all
1now' =nertia has 1ept the expansion going to the present day'
=n #act the repulsive gravity caused space to expand at an accelerating rate' <osmological
observations appear to re!uire such an early period o# acceleration 1nown as cosmic
in#lation' &s the universe expands the #orce driving in#lation slowly subsides' Once the
acceleration ends surplus energy is trans#erred to ordinary matter which begins to #ill the
universe in a process called reheating' =n current models in#lation is somewhat ad hoc
added in to con#orm to observationsbut in loop !uantum cosmology it is a natural
conse!uence o# the atomic nature o# spacetime' &cceleration automatically occurs when
the universe is small and its porous nature still !uite signi#icant'
Time be#ore Time
(ithout a singularity to demarcate the beginning o# time the history o# the universe may
extend #urther bac1 than cosmologists once thought possible' Other physicists have
reached a similar conclusion Bsee 7The $yth o# the Beginning o# Time8 by *abriele
Jene)iano9 >cienti#ic &merican $ay 2//DE but only rarely do their models #ully resolve
the singularity9 most models including those #rom string theory re!uire assumptions as
to what might have happened at this uneasy spot' Coop gravity in contrast is able to
trace what too1 place at the singularity' Coop"based scenarios though admittedly
simpli#ied are #ounded on general principles and avoid introducing new ad hoc
assumptions'
Using the di##erence e!uations we can try to reconstruct the deep past' One possible
scenario is that the initial high"density state arose when a preexisting universe collapsed
under the attractive #orce o# gravity' The density grew so high that gravity switched to
being repulsive and the universe started expanding again' <osmologists re#er to this
process as a bounce'
The #irst bounce model investigated thoroughly was an ideali)ed case in which the
universe was highly symmetrical and contained %ust one type o# matter' 5articles had no
mass and did not interact with one another' >impli#ied though this model was
understanding it initially re!uired a set o# numerical simulations that were completed
only in 2//K by &bhay &shte1ar Tomas) 5awlows1i and 5arampreet >ingh all at
5ennsylvania >tate University' They considered the propagation o# waves representing
the universe both be#ore and a#ter the big bang' The model clearly showed that a wave
would not blindly #ollow the classical tra%ectory into the abyss o# a singularity but would
stop and turn bac1 once the repulsion o# !uantum gravity set in'
&n exciting result o# these simulations was that the notorious uncertainty o# !uantum
mechanics seemed to remain #airly muted during the bounce' & wave remained locali)ed
throughout the bounce rather than spreading out as !uantum waves usually do' Ta1en at
#ace value this result suggested that the universe be#ore the bounce was remar1ably
similar to our own: governed by general relativity and perhaps #illed with stars and
galaxies' =# so we should be able to extrapolate #rom our universe bac1 in time through
the bounce and deduce what came be#ore much as we can reconstruct the paths o# two
billiard balls be#ore a collision based on their paths a#ter the collision' (e do not need to
1now each and every atomic"scale detail o# the collision'
Un#ortunately my subse!uent analysis dashed this hope' The model as well as the
!uantum waves used in the numerical simulations turned out to be a special case' =n
general = #ound that waves spread out and that !uantum e##ects were strong enough to be
rec1oned with' >o the bounce was not a brie# push by a repulsive #orce li1e the collision
o# billiard balls' =nstead it may have represented the emergence o# our universe #rom an
almost un#athomable !uantum statea world in highly #luctuating turmoil' +ven i# the
preexisting universe was once very similar to ours it passed through an extended period
during which the density o# matter and energy #luctuated strongly and randomly
scrambling everything'
The #luctuations be#ore and a#ter the big bang were not strongly related to each other' The
universe be#ore the big bang could have been #luctuating very di##erently than it did
a#terward and those details did not survive the bounce' The universe in short has a
tragic case o# #orget#ulness' =t may have existed be#ore the big bang but !uantum e##ects
during the bounce wiped out almost all traces o# this prehistory'
>ome >craps o# $emory
This picture o# the big bang is subtler than the classical view o# the singularity' (hereas
general relativity simply #ails at the singularity loop !uantum gravity is able to handle
the extreme conditions there' The big bang is no longer a physical beginning or a
mathematical singularity but it does put a practical limitation on our 1nowledge'
(hatever survives cannot provide a complete view o# what came be#ore'
Arustrating as this may be it might be a conceptual blessing' =n physical systems as in
daily li#e disorder tends to increase' This principle 1nown as the second law o#
thermodynamics is an argument against an eternal universe' =# order has been decreasing
#or an in#inite span o# time the universe should by now be so disorgani)ed that structures
we see in galaxies as well as on +arth would be all but impossible' The right amount o#
cosmic #orget#ulness may come to the rescue by presenting the young growing universe
with a clean slate irrespective o# all the mess that may have built up be#ore'
&ccording to traditional thermodynamics there is no such thing as a truly clean slate9
every system always retains a memory o# its past in the con#iguration o# its atoms Bsee
7The <osmic Origins o# Time,s &rrow8 by >ean $' <arroll9 >cienti#ic &merican 6uneE'
But by allowing the number o# spacetime atoms to change loop !uantum gravity allows
the universe more #reedom to tidy up than classical physics would suggest'
&ll that is not to say that cosmologists have no hope o# probing the !uantum"gravitational
period' *ravitational waves and neutrinos are especially promising tools because they
barely interact with matter and there#ore penetrated the primordial plasma with minimal
loss' These messengers might well bring us news #rom a time near to or even be#ore the
big bang'
One way to loo1 #or gravitational waves is by studying their imprint on the cosmic
microwave bac1ground radiation Bsee 7+choes #rom the Big Bang8 by Fobert F'
<aldwell and $arc Lamion1ows1i9 >cienti#ic &merican 6anuary 2//-E' =# !uantum"
gravitational repulsive gravity drove cosmic in#lation these observations might #ind some
hint o# it' Theorists must also determine whether this novel source o# in#lation could
reproduce other cosmological measurements especially o# the early density distribution
o# matter seen in the cosmic microwave bac1ground'
&t the same time astronomers can loo1 #or the spacetime analogues o# random Brownian
motion' Aor instance !uantum #luctuations o# spacetime could a##ect the propagation o#
light over long distances' &ccording to loop gravity a light wave cannot be continuous9 it
must #it on the lattice o# space' The smaller the wavelength the more the lattice distorts
it' =n a sense the spacetime atoms bu##et the wave' &s a conse!uence light o# di##erent
wavelengths travels at di##erent speeds' &lthough these di##erences are tiny they may add
up during a long trip' Mistant sources such as gamma"ray bursts o##er the best hope o#
seeing this e##ect Bsee 7(indow on the +xtreme Universe8 by (illiam B' &twood 5eter
A' $ichelson and >teven Fit)9 >cienti#ic &merican Mecember 2//HE'
=n the case o# material atoms more than 20 centuries elapsed between the #irst
speculative suggestions o# atoms by ancient philosophers and +instein,s analysis o#
Brownian motion which #irmly established atoms as the sub%ect o# experimental science'
The delay should not be as long #or spacetime atoms'
Aor charts and graphs related to this story clic1 the images below to enlarge