Inflation

This "Cosmic Inflation" Text And The "Solar System" Text Located At: http://www.johnkharms.com/solarsystem.htm Are The Two Platforms Designated By The Author For His Work In The "Open Universe" Area.

As The Author Views It, There Are Essentially Two Possibilities For The Universe, An "Open Universe" (Which Expands Forever) Or A "Closed Universe" (Which Eventually Collapses Back In On-Itself). If You Are Searching For An "Open Universe" Model, You Are Now Here. However, If You Want To See The Author's Views Of The "Closed Universe", It Closely Relates To His Ideas On "Quantum Space". The "Closed Universe" Model, Which Might Be Also An "Oscillating Universe", Can Be Viewed At: http://www.johnkharms.com/oscillation.htm .

The Open Universe Proposal

Cosmic Inflation In The Present-Day Universe

The Universe's Increasing Expansion And The Ongoing False-Vacuum State

Eventual Wormholes At The Center-Of-Mass And New Particle Fabrication

By: John K. Harms

Email: harmsjk3@earthlink.net

Go To HOME

Abstract:

This text proposes an "open" Universe, a Universe that expands forever. This is an inflationary model of the Universe in the tradition of Alan Guth's conception. It proposes that the process of inflation occurred essentially twice in the Universe's history. The first time in the very early Universe as was presently proposed by Guth, a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. We are presently in the second phase of expansion, a second super cooled state, and this process is ongoing--a runaway Universe. The process will end when the Universe quantum tunnels-out of the false-vacuum state. This idea appears to solve several difficulties with present observations. This model leads to a number of probable consequences.

Key Words: Open Universe, Inflation, False Vacuum, Phase Transition, Bubbles, Higgs Fields, Vacuum Energy, Super Cooling, Wormholes, Singularities, Center Of Mass, Planetary Expansion, Stellar Evolution, Radiation Pressure, Supernovas, Quasars

Introduction

By assuming the concept of inflation is actually a two step ongoing process, that one period of inflation occurred in the early Universe followed by a second period presently, it is possible to explain several recently uncovered mysteries about the Universe. In addition, a new mechanism for the ongoing evolution of the Universe i.e., the expansion of planetary bodies into the stars, automatically follows from this proposal.

Some of the author's previous work on the expansion of the planets provides additional evidence that this model is viable i.e., observations appear to indicate that the exponential planetary expansion has occurred. Link provided below.

Moreover, this proposal provides a new approach, besides the author's original "neutrino oscillations" mechanism and gravitational energy (the viewpoints in other texts), to support the idea that the expansion of the planets is actually taking place.

Inflation As A Cosmological Solution

The original cosmic inflation theory, as proposed by the MIT physicist Alan Guth, solved several previously unexplained riddles about the Universe:

1) Why the Universe is so uniform.

2) Why the Universe's expansion is so isotropic--the same in every direction.

3) Why there is so much matter in the Universe.

4) Why the Universe is observed to be so flat.

5) Why there are so few magnetic monopoles in the Universe. A magnetic monopole is a separate north or south pole particle by itself (half a magnet, so to speak), a consequence predicted by the grand unified theories (GUT). By assuming that inflation has taken place, however, the amount of monopoles was suppressed in GUT which agrees with the observed rarity of monopoles. Hence, slow bubble formation suppressed the production of monopoles. In fact, nothing like a magnetic monopole has ever been observed! Perhaps, the author's ideas on magnetism may explain why. See link below.

Bubble Formation

Guth's original inflationary model had a problem with the formation of bubbles of the new phase transition. The idea was that bubbles of the new phase of broken symmetry would have formed in the old phase, like bubbles of steam surrounded by boiling water. Bubble-type membranes form of broken symmetries; places where the laws of physics change.

As the Universe cooled below 10^29 K, the Higgs fields underwent a phase-transition, in which the oscillations diminished and a nonzero average value was established.

In the early Universe, the symmetries that were broken after super cooling became the four forces of nature. The bubbles were supposed to expand and meet-up with others until the whole Universe was in the new phase (Hawking, 1996). However, the problem was that the Universe was rapidly expanding at this time, so the bubbles could not join-up, even if they expanded faster-than-light!

A subsequent model known as the "New Inflationary Universe" , as put forth by the Russian physicist Andrei Linde, solved the bubble problem by assuming that the whole of the visible Universe is contained within a single bubble.

The author believes that this scenario is the actual case. However, as recent observations indicate, the Universe is presently (and once again) in an expansion phase at an increasing, and very likely, an exponential rate. If these observations do holdup (and it appears that they may), the traditional model of the Big Bang with only one inflationary expansion scenario cannot presently be viable.

The Evidence Of Present-Day Inflation

If inflation were presently taking place i.e., we were presently in an inflationary phase, what would be its characteristics? What would we observe in the present-day Universe?

1) The Universe would be increasing its expansion over time. It is surprising, but it is precisely this phenomena that is now what is observed by astronomers.

In 1998, two teams of astronomers presented the first evidence that we live in a runaway Universe, driven to expand at a faster and faster rate. Recent observations comparing the brightness of supernovas suggest that the Universe's rate of expansion is in-fact increasing. Distant supernovas appeared twenty percent dimmer than expected for a constant expansion, hence, the Universe is not constantly expanding. The Universe is increasing its expansion over time. Although the increasing expansion model may not be cast in concrete as yet, it has now been engraved in bronze (Cowen, 2000, # 1).

The Universe, hence, is now in an "Open Universe" phase, an open-geometry "saddle-shaped" configuration. Present theories do not explain the accelerating rate of the expansion of the Universe presently observed. To view the author's "closed Universe" proposal, see the "Oscillating Universe" link below.

2) The Universe would appear flat on the local as well as large scales. This again is what is presently observed. The experiment known as MAXIMA has recorded relic evidence that the Universe is flat--matching predictions that the Universe will expand forever (Travis, 2000). Why we now observe the Universe to be flat, is because the cosmic background radiation is so smooth. This, however, is considered by this model as a relic of the first inflationary expansion, a time when the critical density exactly met the actual density of the Universe. The cosmic background we now observe was generated by the first inflationary scenario, a fraction of a second after the Big Bang.

We are presently in another secondary inflationary expansion phase. The actual mass density is still so very close to the critical density due to the first inflationary era. Despite the fact that the vacuum is very full of energy (a fact that must be true for the author's ideas about gravity also to be valid), this energy is not apparent and only adds to the increasing expansion of the Universe. The latest mapping, called the "Two Degree Field Galaxy Red Shift Survey" helps confirm that vacuum energy solves the problem of missing mass. Hence, the evidence for vacuum energy has gotten much stronger over the past few years (Bennett, 2000).

The missing mass problem is solved because the mass exists as vacuum radiation outside (and between) the galaxy bubbles. This radiation exerts a pressure on the bubbles of the new phase holding the galaxies together (and limiting their expansion rates) as well as driving the increasing expansion of the Universe. This idea agrees not only with present observations of galaxies, but also with present observations of the Universe as well.

3) The age problem; why the Universe is observed to be younger than the age of its oldest stars. The present measurement of the Hubble constant is that the Universe is younger than this! For example, the conventional inflation model predicts a Universe that is about eight billion years old. This is in conflict with present observations of known stellar ages of eleven or twelve billion years.

The normal method of solving this age problem is to add a cosmological constant (an expansion-type force in space-time) to the equations. However, if inflation is presently taking place as is proposed here, and the false-vacuum (phase-transition) state is driving the present expansion, this would have an identical effect of a cosmological constant and cause the Universe to expand. Hence, outside the galactic bubbles the Universe is flooded with energy!

Thus, the age problem, like adding a cosmological constant to the equations, is essentially solved by assuming that we presently are in an exponentially expanding era--a runaway Universe. The cosmological constant is a mathematical creation of Einstein, an unlikely solution to the age problem.

4) As in # 2, the density of the Universe would be very close to the critical density. The ratio of the actual mass density of the Universe divided by the critical density is known as Omega. If Omega = 1, then the Universe is flat. This is an illusion created by the first inflationary expansion, a background relic still observed in the present Universe.

This, again, is a flat Universe and this is what is observed by astronomers, but assuming that inflation in the very early Universe (what is called here the first inflation era) is the primary cause, appears correct. This is because we are now observing what happened only a fraction of a second after the Big Bang (when the density was equal to the critical density). We now, however, are in a saddle-shaped Universe phase--an open geometry.

5) No observed monopoles; This difficulty is solved by eliminating a small horizon in the early Universe (Barrow, 1994). The first inflationary era essentially overcomes this difficulty. Moreover, as will be subsequently proposed, the Universe may have started off as an object the size of a galaxy; not as something very small and point-like similar to a singularity!

Two Inflation Eras

The idea proposed here is that there are fundamentally two eras (or phases) of inflation. We are presently in the second phase. As described above, the author will refer to these phases as the first inflation era and the second inflation era.

The first inflation era took place in the very early Universe (10^-35 seconds after the Big Bang) as described by Guth and Linde. It lasted perhaps only about 10^-35 to 10^-33 seconds (Barrow, 1994). It is assumed here that the first inflationary period ended rather smoothly, producing only a smooth cosmic background radiation and some very light elements (hydrogen, lithium, deuterium, and two isotopes of helium), which now reside between the galaxies (Barrow, 1994).

The COBE satellite data agrees with the first inflationary scenario, hence, it must be true that such an event occurred. COBE shows that the Universe's expansion is isotropic--the same in every direction. We now observe this to be true.

The first Inflation era lasted only for a fraction of a second and it solved many of the difficulties that were present in the original Big Bang picture of creation, as described above.

The Second Inflation Era

The second inflation era is the present state of the Universe i.e., we are presently in this phase. In this phase, again, a false-vacuum state from super cooling is driving the expansion and this expansion may last for an extended period. The period may have begun about 4.5 billion years ago, about the time that the then smaller Earth first accreted from mostly the available lighter elements.

The occasional phase-transitions into super cooled states are pictured as a common characteristic of the evolution of the Universe. The expansion and cooling of the Universe at the energy where the force symmetries occur, may have super cooled the Universe a second time. This may have led to an energetic increasing expansion for a second time in the Universe's history. A strange fact about the energy density of the false-vacuum state is that it remains a constant, despite the increasing expansion of the Universe. This may explain why the density of the vacuum is still observed to be so high (Bennett, 2000).

When these phases do occur, they are unstable. New symmetries between the forces may be taking place when the second phase-transition finally ends. It is, however, too early to say what these new symmetries might be, since we are probably not close enough to the end of the super cooled phase-transition state to tell.

The effect of gravity during this (present) period is repulsive on the large scale, similar to Einstein's cosmological constant. Locally, gravity is not repulsive, but at the scales of the galaxies, it is! This repulsive effect will end when the phase-transition super cooling finally ends sometime in the (perhaps distant) future.

However, according to classical physics, we may now be stuck forever in the false-vacuum state. In the first expansion, the Universe, being relatively small at that time, may have rapidly tunneled (utilizing quantum tunneling) out of the false-vacuum state. Perhaps, the Universe is now too large to quantum tunnel its way out to reach equilibrium.--or perhaps, it is just very slow. However, it does appear to be taking an extended period of time compared to the rapid inflation of the early Universe.

If one assumes that the Universe, since the first inflationary period, expanded roughly 1 million^2 (or 1,000,000--squared), perhaps, time has expanded to a degree that the time of first inflationary period and the second inflation are roughly equal. Unfortunately, there are too many uncertainties in these values here to make a reliable calculation. That these two duration's might be roughly identical, and that time has expanded with the Universe, is to this author, however, a quite interesting idea.

In both cases, expansion is and was, exponential. This is the primary reason that the ongoing exponential expansion of the planets is observed in our present-day Universe. Recall that the evidence that we are presently in this secondary phase was given earlier.

New Matter Fabrication

The galaxies formed shortly after the second inflationary period and began forming bubbles of the new phase. The bubbles began to form when the false-vacuum began to decay.

According to Guth, a region of false-vacuum will grow forever and never stop! A region of false-vacuum may, therefore, produce not only one galaxy, but an infinite number of galaxies, at an ever-increasing rate--a type of fractal Universe. As Guth says, "the ultimate free lunch".

In galaxy formation, the Universe in the false-vacuum state is producing new matter at an increasing rate. This new matter originally formed at the edges (or walls) of the bubbles of the new phase (the second inflationary era) where it meets the old phase (the first inflation era). That new matter forms at the interface of these two phases is a fact established by Alan Guth in his work on inflationary models.

In these early stages, the bulk of the energy of the Universe remains locked in the walls of the larger bubbles. Larger bubbles are more energetic and, thus, release more material.

The new material may then eventually fall toward its center of mass (at the center of the bubble) and such matter may develop a rotation (perhaps, it is the bubble itself that is rotating like a soap bubble). The different types of galaxies observed may be related to the sizes of the galactic bubbles.

Complicated structures like small planet-like bodies began to arise as gravity within the bubble caused the early matter to clump. Even though the early matter may have been largely the lighter elements only, rather massive planet-like objects could be accreted.

The bubble eventually grows to the size of our galaxy and our galaxy is contained within the bubble itself. Thus, the bubbles of the new phase surround the galaxies. Indeed, as is discussed subsequently, it is the bubble and the new phase that gives rise to the complexity and life within our bubble.

The old phase must have in-general a higher density of radiation than the new phase does, thus, the old phase exerts a pressure on the outer walls of the galactic bubble to exactly balance the outward pressure. Galaxies expand because the glowing matter in them is producing its own cumulative and increasing outward pressure. In addition, the expansion of the Universe is decreasing the overall density of the pressure on each galactic bubble encouraging them to expand outward. Hence, the two pressures must always be in-equilibrium. The observed rotation of galaxies like "wagon-wheels" can be understood as the uniform rotation of galactic bubbles via radiation pressure from outside the bubbles.

The new matter being created may collapse into a super massive black hole that forms at the center of the galactic bubble membrane. There is now direct evidence that super massive black holes not only exist, but they grow along with the galaxies they inhabit (Cowen, 2000, #2). The larger the galaxy, the bigger is the black hole.

These super massive black holes at the galactic center, however, may not participate in the subsequent stage of mass/energy exchange via wormholes that other massive bodies do. While the wormhole is very large inside a black hole, the hole's gravity is so strong that matter and radiation do not flow-out as easily as in. Hence, the particles emitted by the hole may not come directly from the hole itself. This wormhole model is subsequently discussed in more detail.

That the new particles congregate around the super massive black hole is rather like the Kant-Laplace nebular hypothesis at this point, except that all the new material forms at the interface of the bubble wall with the old phase (as demonstrated by Guth) and not from the gas clouds of the Big Bang--the conventional picture.

The galaxy evolves until the black hole forms at the center, then galactic evolution enters a new phase. The new phase is also triggered when the particles formed, accrete into large enough objects to contain wormholes within their cores. At this point, a new phase of galactic evolution begins. This is essentially the evolution of the planetary bodies themselves (into larger and eventually stellar objects) via wormholes, driven by the energy of the Higgs fields and the false-vacuum state.

Wormholes Connect Massive Bodies

Wormholes connect the bodies in the Universe to the Higgs fields, when the bodies become massive enough. A wormhole is defined as "connections between regions of space-time that would otherwise be inaccessible to each other" (Barrow, 1994). The wormhole is created by the bodies gravity (when gravity is strong enough) at its center of mass. Massive bodies have singularities at their centers-of-mass.

A singularity is defined as a path through space-time of any light ray that comes to a complete halt and cannot be continued. At the edge of this path the light ray has reached the edge of space and time. Hence, as in the gravitational text, gravitational radiation "disappears" from the Universe (Barrow, 1994). A massive object, thus, has a wormhole at its core, a singular point (as in Newtonian gravity also) that is a pathway to a higher dimension.

Every object with mass "cracks-open" space-time to some degree. However, in relatively small masses, this is only a point located at the center-of-mass of the body. Sometimes this point is located outside the body, as in the commonplace object that can be thrown known as "a boomerang". A boomerang has its center of mass outside of its physical body. A boomerang rotates around its center-of-mass when it is thrown. The center-of-mass acts as a point of rotation for the body. It is more than that, however.

The center of mass of a boomerang is the collective center of its gravitational attraction--it is a point of rotation. As Newton discovered, all the matter of an object "acts" as if it is all at the center. In a boomerang, this point lies outside of itself.

If the boomerang could be blown up to the size of the Earth, the matter composing it would all collapse into this center-of-mass point, transforming the boomerang into a sphere--like the Earth. This is why large planets are all spherical. They are too massive to be otherwise.

This is actually a type of "cosmic censorship" as in the case of black holes, because when a singularity begins to become somewhat powerful as a source of an object's gravity (as in a huge boomerang), the local mass around it all collapses into the center to cover-up the exposed singularity. Hence, a very large boomerang-shaped object collapses under its own weight, and covers-up its exposed singularity--its center-of-mass.

Therefore, the singular point of a less massive body only slightly distorts the space-time nearby and does not connect (as more massive objects do) to the Higgs fields. Hence, higher dimensional hyperspace, links all more massive bodies (if they are massive enough) to the Higgs fields, which is assumed to exist at higher dimensions. This is likely to be within the fifth dimension; not a dimension which is directly accessible to human beings.

It is noteworthy that gravitational bodies may have a close relationship with each other. Mach's Principle suggests that accelerated frames of reference have a strong relationship with all other matter in the Universe. Hence, one piece of matter has an "internal-connectedness" with all other pieces of matter. This idea may seem very abstract at first. However, an actual physical network of connected space-time may exist (as this text suggests) to link bodies together at higher dimensions via wormholes. From the author's perspective, Mach's past work on inertia is consistent with this idea. For more information about Mach Principle, inertia, gravity and reference frames, see the link below.

The Higgs Fields

The Higgs fields are essentially the storehouses for matter particles and radiation that exist in the fifth dimension. The Higgs field is how all particles acquire mass. It is not known why we cannot tell how much energy is contained in the Higgs fields, but we cannot. We only see the effects that this dimension has on our four space-time dimensions, for example, in the increasing expansion of the Universe or the creation of new matter.

In the Higgs fields (five dimensional entities), the energy and its effects can flow through our dimensions in two ways; in and out. For example, the Higgs fields can down load particles and radiation to a massive body at its core (at its center-of-mass) --through the wormhole that exists there. This leads to the exponential expansion of the Universe (and of the planets) that is presently observed. See the author's planetary expansion evidence text for further information about the expansion of the planetary bodies. See link below.

That the Universe is increasing its expansion (an open geometry) over time indicates that the Higgs field is actively "dumping" energy into the present-day Universe. Particles gain mass as they pass through the Higgs fields in hyperspace. The amount of available energy in the Higgs fields is variable.

The Higgs fields can "gain" energy from the gravitational energy produced in our four dimensional space-time. For example, gravitational energy can flow into the Higgs fields from a massive body. When incoming gravitational radiation flows into the radiation void, which in the particle picture is a wormhole at the core of a massive body, it can contribute energy to the Higgs fields. Moreover, the cooling of the Universe may also contribute to gravitational energy and, thus, also the Higgs fields. Indeed, photon emission may contribute energy to the Higgs fields.

Gravitational photons are attracted to the radiation void and flow into the wormhole at the core of a body. Only radiation, and not matter, is allowed to flow into the wormhole and contribute to the Higgs fields, although matter particles may flow-out. Thus, gravitational radiation may contribute to the Higgs fields' energy, which in-turn contributes particles and radiation to other massive planets.

It might be a simpler model overall to propose that only the Kant-Laplace hypothesis occurred and that the wormhole evolution phase did not actually occur. However, in this case, there still would be new particles constantly being produced at the bubble walls where the two phases meet near the galactic edge. This, however, has not been observed by astronomers. Thus, it appears that instead of this new material being formed at the bubble walls, the new material may enter the Universe through the wormholes present within matter. This, admittedly, is a hypothesis. A hypothesis, however, that is consistent with the author's previous works.

Moreover, it may be that wormholes connect not only to the Higgs fields, but also each galactic bubble with each other (Barrow, 1994).

Another option is that the influx of gravitational long-wavelength photons are being deposited at the cores of the planets. Hence, this is what is causing the observed expansion of the planets. This idea is known as the quantum gravity-growth mechanism. The author has devoted an entire text to this model. See the "quantum gravity mechanism" text at the link below for further details.

The Higgs Fields And The Fifth Dimension

The void is, in essence, a gravitational singularity (a wormhole) at the center of a bodies mass, a window to five dimensional hyperspace. Five dimensional hyperspace is the realm of the Higgs fields and the matter and radiation they contain. Gravitational radiation may be, therefore, collected in hyperspace and redistributed throughout space-time to the various massive bodies in the Universe.

Thus, the more massive bodies there are in the Universe, the more gravitational energy may be contributed to the Higgs fields. This quantity, like the expansion of the Universe itself, may be an exponential function. Hence, as bodies gain mass, the gravitational energy they contribute to the Higgs fields rises exponentially.

Like the Higgs energy, gravitational energy is also negative. The false-vacuum state, like gravity, creates a type of suction. According to the general theory of relativity, where pressure is nonuniform, there is a gravitational attraction. Matter, therefore, causes a nonuniformity of the vacuum radiation. See the gravity text for further information about this viewpoint. Link provided below.

Gravitational energy, along with the ongoing energy of the false-vacuum state, powers the continuing inflationary expansion and the fabrication of new particles. Again, this fabrication of new particles takes place within massive bodies inside all the bubbles of the new phase i.e., within our galaxy and other galaxies.

The false-vacuum state may be fed also through the emission of photons. The borrowing of vacuum energy during photon emission may lead to a vacuum that has a false-vacuum (cosmological constant) effect on space-time. The Universe expands! It is ironic that the more the Universe expands, the more negative pressure the vacuum has, hence, the Universe increases its rate of expansion. This is what is observed. Photon emission may add energy to the Higgs fields. This idea is discussed in more detail in the "Photon Emission" text. See link below.

The premise of the author's text on "Quantum Space" is that space is actually a "photon hole". If such holes were spread uniformly throughout the Universe, a repulsive effect (similar to the cosmological constant) may result. This might drive the ongoing inflation of the cosmos now observed. See the "Quantum Space" text link below for further details about this idea.

The fifth dimension is hot!--full of energy. Perhaps, when the Higgs fields eventually cool, the Universe may stop expanding at an increasing rate. The Universe will then tunnel-out of the false-vacuum state and the Higgs fields will "dump" their energy and cool-off--perhaps, it will create a new Big Bang! More about this idea shortly.

If our Universe's speed of recession approaches the speed of light, it will likely take a great quantity of energy from the Higgs fields to accelerate the expansion even a slight bit more. Thus, Einsteinian dynamics (the special theory of relativity) comes into play at this point.

The Higgs fields, perhaps, do not have enough energy (an infinite amount) for the Universe to reach the speed of light. Hence, although the engine of increasing expansion is essentially driven by the Higgs mechanism, this energy, perhaps, is not limitless. Guth does state otherwise, however.

Perhaps, when relativistic effects begin to happen at close to the speed of light, this forces an exit from the false vacuum state--the Universe tunnels out at this point.

Inflationary Speculations

It is ironic that as the Universe tunnels-out of the false-vacuum, the energy stored in the Higgs fields may produce (according to Guth) high energy particles--a hot soup of particles, perhaps, the starting point for a new Big Bang. This was alluded to earlier.

Perhaps (and this is the author's own speculations), the bubble galaxies in our Universe will each be the beginning of a new Universe, as our present Universe tunnels-out (perhaps, at the speed of light) and decays. One of these new Universes will be our own galaxy, all contained within a single bubble (which was A. Linde's original conception).

When our present false-vacuum ends through decay, what is now our galaxy will be essentially vaporized by a flood of high-energy radiation "dumped" by the Higgs fields into the vacuum in our dimensions. This event will occur everywhere at once--through the vacuum itself. A hot soup of particles, like lightning and flames (also Higgs fields events), will vaporize essentially all the available matter in our galaxy and begin a new Big Bang event, utilizing the materials that were previously in our galaxy. Thus, the death of our galaxy, is the coming into being of a new Universe--the death and rebirth at the same moment.

Therefore, this short speculation predicts that our galaxy will end in a fire storm from the vacuum itself, perhaps, as our own Universe approaches closely the speed of light (one possibility). Or perhaps, the new Big Bang happens when equilibrium inside and outside the bubble is finally achieved. Thus, the bubble wall will collapse (disappear) because there is no significant difference between the radiation pressure inside the bubble (the new phase) and that outside the bubble (the old phase). These two scenarios may indicate how the previous cycle started and how the new one will begin anew; when the false-vacuum state finally decays.

Thus, our own Universe may have begun as a galaxy (flooded and vaporized by a flash of high-energy vacuum particles at the very beginning) in some other Universe, itself full of bubbles of new phase transitions. The size of this initial galaxy, perhaps, is similar to our own--about 100,000 light-years across (Hawking, 1996). These bubbles in the previous Universe are now all neighboring Universes to our own, beyond our visual range of sight.

If Guth's model is correct, what we now call the observable Universe emerged from a much smaller region (such as a galaxy-sized region) than the old Big Bang model suggested. The first inflationary era then magnified this galaxy-sized region, rapidly expanding it.

If one were to take this concept completely seriously, it appears that galaxies are island Universes after all! Indeed, one might traverse forward or backward with this line of logic indefinitely -- galaxies become new Universes -- Universe's previously were galaxies etc..

This idea might have as a consequence that our Universe has its own rotation. This is because the previous galaxy bubble from which our Universe formed may have also had a rotation. As a result of conservation of angular momentum in a rapidly expanding Universe, such a rotation should by now be very slow indeed (and slowing down as our Universe expands). However, this prediction might be observable. If this observation were true, this information might provide us with useful data about the previous galaxy bubble, before "our" Big Bang event occurred.

The rotation our Universe may be relative to the previous phase of which our Universe was a galactic member. In the future, more advanced telescopes might be able to see to the edge of our bubble (which is transparent) and beyond, glimpsing the light from other Universe's passing by the transparent bubble membrane.

For more information about the ideas in this section, see the "Universe, Solar System And Galaxy Evolution" text; Link provided below.

Another related model that might be of interest is the closed Universe proposal; "Oscillating Universe And Quantum Space". See the link below for further information.

The New Phase--The Rise Of Life

One might ask the question: If the old phase led essentially to the separation of the four forces of nature, what is the significance of the new secondary phase? What new processes (changes in the laws of physics) does the new phase lead to?

The answer may be that the new phase leads to the complexity we see around us. The branching-symmetry of the Universe in the new phase, is the complex particles and processes necessary for life. Our own existence, therefore, may be the result of the fact that our galaxy (the Milky Way) is within the bubble of the new phase, the place where complex atoms and molecules arise.

Atoms more complicated (and heavier) than hydrogen, helium and lithium arose only within our bubble and other similar bubbles. Hence, humans could not survive (and can never go) outside of our own bubble (in the space between the galactic bubbles), where only these simple and lighter atoms and background radiation can exist.

Other bubbles of the new phase (other galaxies) may have evolved in a similar way and indeed this does appear to be the case. Other galaxies may very likely have the identical laws of physics as we do. However, we do not know this for an absolute certainty.

It appears that radiation can be transmitted from one bubble to the next, but matter particles can never leave each galactic bubble of the new phase. Only if, and this should be possible, the bubbles expanded enough to join-up with each other, could matter from two different bubbles meet each other. However, this was the key difficulty in Guth's original proposal, that the bubbles could not join-up because the whole Universe was expanding too fast.

Moreover, if galaxies are inside bubbles, there may also be somewhat different laws of physics in the spaces between the different galactic bubbles (in the old phase). The observational truth is that the false-vacuum state (as described by Guth) grants a repulsive effect between the various bubbles, hence, the bubbles are moving away from each other. The Universe as a whole is expanding. This is the same as if gravity has the characteristic of being attractive only within the galactic bubbles, but repulsive at these greater distances outside (and between) the various bubbles. This agrees with observations--and the galaxy bubble idea states why this is so.

The observation that galaxies rotate like wagon-wheels, where the outside edges rotate at a faster rate than do the central regions, may also be explained by the bubble conception. The physical bubble of the new phase acts as a unit; it is physically separate from the old phase outside the bubble.

Hence, the outer edges of the galaxy move along with the inner regions guided as much by external radiation pressure on the bubble wall, as by gravity rotation about the center of the galaxy. The presently observed rotation of galaxies is only comprehensible if galaxies are contained within bubbles! The quantum space in each bubble rotates as, in water in a bucket revolving with the outer edge of the bucket, with the outer edges of the expanding bubble! See the author's work on "Quantum Space" for more information about this. Link provided below.

Indeed, some bubbles join-up when one galaxy consumes another. This agrees with present observations. Moreover, in Guth's models it is likely that the bubbles are of differing sizes and ages, and it is presently observed that galaxies come in different sizes.

However, in the standard Big Bang model, the ages of the galaxies should be roughly identical. In the bubble model proposed here, however, there may be somewhat of a difference in the ages of the galactic bubbles, even ones in close proximity to each other. Indeed, the size of a bubble and the galaxy it contains should be related to its age. Thus, small bubble galaxies are young; the large ones are somewhat older.

Bubbles And Dimensionality

It should be mentioned that the bubbles of the new phase might be related to dimensionality. The fifth dimension may exist outside our galactic bubble membrane. Inside the membrane that contains our galaxy, we live essentially in a four dimensional world. Only the five dimensional effects of gravity, which is related to the wormholes mentioned earlier, are felt inside our galactic bubble.

Recall that these higher dimensions outside of our membrane may be very hot, driving the presently observed accelerated expansion. If our galactic bubble membrane does eventually become a new Big Bang, the next bubble phase may only contain three dimensions--reduced by one from our bubble. Wormholes to these bubbles will only be four dimensional--not five as in our galactic bubble.

Our visible Universe, hence, may be surrounded by the sixth dimension. Therefore, higher dimensions do exist in our Universe. However, they are not curled-up very small (as is presently believed); higher dimensions are separated from us by a bubble-like membrane and are incredibly huge! Higher dimensions, therefore, may surround both our galaxy and the Universe. Moreover, higher dimensions may somewhat have different laws of physics, as in the observation about the repulsive effects of gravity outside of our bubble as stated earlier.

Stellar Stages

When a planet grows large enough by accumulating sufficient mass, it may reach stellar stages. The wormhole at the core may grow to such an extent that matter particles and radiation are emitted at a high rate.

Thus, the more massive a body is, the larger the wormhole may be and the more particles and radiation the body may emit. This is, perhaps the reason that the expansion of the planets is exponential. Therefore, it is the size of the wormhole that may determine when a planet becomes a star and this may be determined only by the planet's gravity.

Indeed, the Sun and other stars do emit particles at a high rate. This implies, however, that the Sun will continue to grow and become even more massive over time; despite its constant emission of particles and radiation. Indeed, this should also be true of the other stars as well.

The rate of increased expansion of a star is determined by the size of the wormhole at its core and the active outflow of particles and radiation (through the wormhole) from the Higgs fields. If this flow become interrupted, the star will begin to shrink.

Perhaps, the wormhole may become unstable and a supernova will result. Perhaps, a supernova is a rapid "dump" of energy from the Higgs fields into the space-time vacuum and an internal destruction of the star.

Within each bubble as they become larger, the center of galaxies may be the first regions to appear. This may be a likely reason that the central parts of many galaxies do contain a black hole. In a small bubble, most of the early matter is, thus, produced at the center.

As the bubbles become quite large (like our own galactic bubble), the rate of expansion falls-off dramatically and particle production from the walls almost ceases entirely. At this time, new matter travels only through the wormholes from the Higgs fields leading to the exponential expansion of the planets.

Quasars

The quasars that we observe in the early Universe, may be the small bubbles in their early stages. The walls of the bubble are close together and are expanding rapidly. As the quasar bubble (of a dense false vacuum) rapidly expands, the radiation tends to red-shift dramatically the outgoing light, because space-time is rapidly expanding within the bubble and stretches-out the outgoing waves.

Quasars might be indeed quite distant objects, but their very high red-shift may not be due to these distances--they may not be distant enough for this! A small dense false vacuum region contained within a very early bubble, would have the identical effect of an intensely strong gravitational field. This is, perhaps, a compelling reason that a quasar has a high red-shift.

The outgoing photons are doing work against a very strong gravitational field, produced by a dense region of false vacuum in the early bubble. If this were true, one can explain in a more reasonable fashion the energy output of a quasar, since the quasar is actually closer than its red-shift indicates. Quasars are, hence, the early seeds of the galaxies. If this prediction could be verified, this may add weight to this model of our Universe.

Neutrons

The author believes that protons and a few neutrons were created in the Big Bang, as described by the conventional model. These makeup the hydrogen and helium (and perhaps, lithium) of the early Universe--the very light elements. The relatively smooth cosmic background radiation was also generated at this time in the Big Bang, smoothed-out by the initial inflationary period. There is no disagreement with the present model here.

There is also no general disagreement that the Big Bang began our Universe. Matter, in the Big Bang, uniformly filled all of space at all times with no edges, and this explains well the uniform background of radiation we presently observe.

The key difference is what happened perhaps a billion years after the initial Big Bang event. The Universe was flat at this time (Omega was then equal to one). This is when the secondary inflationary event occurred. At this time, the Universe began to exponentially expand and create new matter at a rapid rate. The rise of galactic bubbles of the new phase.

At that time, bubbles of the new phase began to form and these eventually became the galaxies. As described previously, the interface of the old phase and the new created the new particles (protons, neutrons and electrons) at the bubble wall, and then these gravitationally collapsed into the center of the bubble to form the new matter in the galaxy. After a time, a new process began to operate within the bubbles and they stopped producing new matter at the bubble wall.

Instead, the wormholes that now were forming inside of the then accreted matter particles (which now were becoming larger bodies) connected directly to the Higgs fields in hyperspace. This was the beginning of planetary evolution. Hence, the bubble wall interfaces were not then producing as many particles, but the planets were now gaining mass directly from the Higgs fields via the wormholes.

At this time, the small planetary bodies began to evolve into the stars. The heavier elements began to be fabricated in the cores of the planets and when the planets became large enough; the heavier elements were formed in the stars. When a planet becomes large enough to begin this particle fabrication, the wormhole begins to acquire a constant flow of slow neutrons from the Higgs fields.

Such slow neutrons have the effect of attaching themselves to the nuclei of the light elements, and through the process of beta decay, the neutron's add (or contribute) a proton to the nucleus. Heat, an electron and neutrinos are also produced. By this slow neutron and beta decay process, nucleosynthesis of the heavier elements takes place. This is a well established process in the laboratory; how the heavy elements were artificially fabricated in the 1950's by experimental physicists.

When nuclei do become very massive and are a fissionable nucleus, they may (also through the slow neutron mechanism) begin to fission. When bombarded by slow neutrons, a relatively heavy nuclei may split into several smaller and lighter nuclei (Wheeler, 1998). By this process, atomic scale branching takes place, the growth and evolution of new atoms at the cores of the planets.

The heat generated by these fusion and fission processes may lead to the rampant volcanism observed on many of the planets within our solar system. See expansion evidence text below.

Moreover, the fusion and fission processes on the Sun (and the accompanying heat and light) may be due to slow neutrons from the core in the formation of the heavier elements and their eventual fission. In the case of the stars and their relatively large masses, however, these processes may be sped-up to a more rapid rate, as described previously.

Conclusion

This "open Universe" inflation model has the following probable consequences:

1) The space between the galaxies (outside of the bubbles) is filled with matter of the previous phase. This is mostly hydrogen, helium, lithium, neutrinos and anti neutrinos created in the Big Bang event. The heavier elements cannot exist outside the bubbles of the new phase, hence, all heavier nuclei that we observe are actually within our own bubble.

2) The bubbles of the new phase are transparent to radiation. If this were not true, we could not observe any other galaxies (which we obviously can) and they could not observe us. Indeed, the cosmic background radiation could not reach us, were this not the case. The cosmic background radiation is a relic of the first inflationary era. However, the radiation of the old phase exerts a pressure on the walls of our galactic bubble.

3) Quasars are small bubbles of the present phase in an earlier time that are emitting an immense quantity of particles, because the walls of the bubbles are still very close together. The Higgs fields are "dumping" large quantities of radiation into these small bubbles--a dense false vacuum state. Such a state may have an intense gravitational field and space-time within may be expanding rapidly. These are both reasons that a quasar may have a high red-shift. Hence, quasars are early galaxies where the false vacuum bubbles are very small, dense and still developing. This red-shift explanation (if it were verified), would be a strong indicator of the correctness of the galactic bubble picture of galaxy evolution.

4) While the old phase was the separation of the forces, the new phase (the second inflation era) is the rise of life forms and complexity. Hence, complex life forms cannot exist outside of our bubble membrane, the bubble that contains our galaxy.

5) Gravitational radiation increases the energies of the Higgs fields. The Higgs field exists at higher dimensions and gravitational energy enters hyperspace through the wormholes at a bodies center-of-mass. The cooling of the Universe may also contribute to the Higgs fields.

6) It will be found that there are more fusion processes occurring on the Sun than only hydrogen into helium. The slow neutron mechanism predicts that the cores of the stars are composed of the heavier elements. This mechanism may even allow the fusion of elements above iron, which is not the case in the conventional theory. See the cosmic chemistry text for further details about the beta decay mechanism of fusion--it is a thoroughly experimentally tested concept. Link provided below.

7) Bubbles begin small and grow as galaxies grow. The larger the bubble (and the galaxy), the older it is. Galactic bubbles in close proximity, thus, may be of differing ages.

8) In the present inflationary expansion: Locally, gravity is attractive. However, on the large-scales between the galaxies, gravity is repulsive--outward radiation pressure.

9) Due to the first inflationary expansion a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, the mass density of the Universe was set exactly equal to the critical density. The Universe, therefore, based upon the cosmic background appears to be flat. However, in the new phase, the Universe is saddle-shaped and open--a runaway Universe.

10) Planetary expansion is exponential because the inflation of the Universe is exponential. The second inflation era began about 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth at that time was smaller.

11) Between the galaxies, there is a higher radiation density (and hence pressure) than within our galaxy.

12) The whole observable Universe may rotate. This is because the previous galaxy bubble (from which our Universe may have formed) may have had a rotation; like our galaxy does today. The rotation may (or may not!) be very gradual, and getting progressively slower over time. This prediction might be testable by observation. Future more advanced telescopes may view the rotation moving relative to the previous phase, the previous Universe of which our Universe was a galactic member.

Acknowledgment

I wish to thank Alan Guth for writing his superb book on cosmic inflation--inflation was essentially his idea in the first place! Many of the facts about inflation were taken from Guth's book. See reference below.

Links To Other Related Texts

Universe, Solar System And Galaxy Evolution (a recommended read after this text): http://www.johnkharms.com/solarsystem.htm

The Oscillating Universe And Quantum Space (The Closed Universe Proposal): http://www.johnkharms.com/oscillation.htm

Mach's Principle, Inertia, Gravity, And Frames Of Reference: http://www.johnkharms.com/reference.htm

Gravity: http://www.johnkharms.com/gravitation.htm

Expansion Evidence: http://www.johnkharms.com/planetary.htm

The "Quantum Gravity" Mechanism For Expansion: http://www.johnkharms.com/gravity-growth.htm

Cosmic Chemistry (and more information about the "slow neutron" beta decay mechanism): http://www.johnkharms.com/cosmic.htm

Black Holes: http://www.johnkharms.com/blackholes.htm

Photon Emission: http://www.johnkharms.com/photon.htm

Photon Holes And Quantum Space: http://www.johnkharms.com/space.htm

Go To HOME

References

Barrow, J. D., 1994, The Origin Of The Universe, Basic Books, New York, P. 41, 64, 65, 71, 116

Bennett, R., June 10, 2000, Science News, Vol. 157, A Science Service Publication, Washington, D. C., P. 374

(# 1) Cowen, R., February 12, 2000, Science News, Vol. 157, A Science Service Publication, Washington, D. C., P. 106

(# 2) Cowen, R., April 8, 2000, Science News, Vol. 157, A Science Service Publication, Washington, D. C., P. 235

Guth, A. H., 1997, The Inflationary Universe, Perseus Books, Reading, Massachusetts

Hawking, S. W., 1996, A Brief History Of Time, Tenth Anniversary Edition, Bantam Books, New York, P. 39, 131-134

Travis, J., June 3, 2000, Science News, Vol. 157, A Science Service Publication, Washington, D. C., P. 363

Wheeler, J. A., 1998, Geons, Black Holes & Quantum Foam, W. W. Norton & Co., New York, P. 39-46

Reader's Note: Proper References And/Or Acknowledgments To This Text Are Appreciated.