Quasars And Bose

This Text Was Written In Late April, 2002. It Was Inspired At Least In Part By The Recent Research Into An Alternative To Black Holes--The Gravastar.

Quasars, Supernovas And Bose-Einstein Condensates

Are Quasars Essentially Galaxies That Have The Same Wave Function And Precisely In-Phase With Us?

Are Quasars And Supernovae Resonance's And Akin To Optical Illusions?

Gravastars, Gravagalaxies And Keplerian Harmonies

By: John K. Harms

Email: harmsjk3@earthlink.net

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Abstract:

This text proposes that quasars are in essence galaxies packed with supernova stars. These are stars that all have the same wave function, objects that are characteristic of Bose-Einstein condensates. Such supernovae (called gravastars) would, therefore, be in resonance with our visual systems. Objects that are not in resonance with our visual system would not be visible to us. So, supernovas and quasars might be looked upon as a kind of optical illusion, visible only due to a resonance. One might also describe ordinary supernovae using this methodology, and also quasars, billions of resonant supernovae glowing brightly orbiting a super-massive black hole at vast distances. A stars distance from the black hole appears to be critical to the discrete spectrum of the quasar. The compression due to the gravitational tug (more specifically the tidal forces) of the black hole is the primary reason that the Bose-Einstein resonance takes place. The consequences of this proposal are also discussed.

Key Words: Quasars, Supernovae, Bose-Einstein Condensates, Resonance, Gravastars, Gravagalaxies, Phase Transitions, Kepler

Introduction

There is a recent theory (as of April, 2002) proposed by Pawel Mazur of the University of South Carolina and Mottola that there exists a class of objects, which are alternatives to black holes, called gravastars. Their idea is that stars may not collapse all the way to a black hole singularity state, but in effect stabilize somewhat en route before the black hole singularity forms. Gravastars then are star-sized objects of an agglomeration of wave-like substance--but may not be matter in the usual everyday sense i.e., rocks, dust etc. Rather, gravastars are inherently composed of the space-time fabric that has aligned itself into what is called a Bose-Einstein condensate (Davidson, 2002).

So, a Bose-Einstein condensate may be essentially a kind of matter that, in quantum mechanical terms, is all composed of an identical wave function (Davidson, 2002). Hence, the space-time fabric has in essence achieved a kind of resonance with itself. Are we now observing in our Universe such huge and luminous objects and calling them something else? In this work, that is fundamentally what the author is suggesting.

This text proposes that the vast and distant red-shifted quasars that we observe through telescopes are basically Bose-Einstein condensates that come into resonance with our visual systems (and, therefore, also our scientific instruments). In essence, a quasar may be understood to be a galaxy full of supernovas. The author proposes surprisingly that such objects may be akin almost to optical illusions. There is a further description of this viewpoint somewhat later in the text.

The same may be true of supernovas as well, although these objects may only be temporarily passing through these precise resonant phases. That is, both quasars and supernovas when shining so brightly may be absolutely in phase with our visual systems. Hence, we may observing supernovae to be vastly brighter than (overall) they actually are. How can this be?

Supernovas, Temporary Bose-Einstein Condensate States And Gravitational Collapse

As is widely accepted by the astrophysics community, supernovae are essentially stars that have burned up their nuclear fuel and ended their existence as ordinary stars in a tremendous burst of energy called a supernova. This result depends largely on the initial mass of the star. The author is proposing here that these stars, after running out of fuel, gravitationally collapse inward until they temporarily pass through a state called a Bose-Einstein condensate resonance. This state arises fundamentally as a consequence of the internal pressures created by the gravitational collapse.

So, stars during their inward gravitational collapse (and increasing pressure) may pass through the Bose-Einstein condensate state, where the atoms that compose the star may all have roughly a unified wave function. Thus, a supernovae may only be a temporary resonance of matter. Hence, supernovas may shine brightly until an inherent instability in the resonance state occurs. This instability is probably gravitational in nature and due largely to the great loss of energy during this resonant phase. Then, the atoms that compose the star may scatter themselves into space as the resonance grinds itself to a halt and the supernova becomes increasingly chaotic and out of control.

While it may be the case that an inward gravitational pressure causes the resonant Bose-Einstein state in the first place, it may also be true that this same kind of inward pressure is responsible for ending the supernova resonance state. Thus, gravitational instability may lead to the chaos afterward. The Crab Nebula is a prime example in our own galaxy of the remnants of a chaotic supernova aftermath. This is a resonance that went critically out of control, which left in its wake the gaseous nebula we now observe.

Quasars And Permanent Bose-Einstein Condensate States

A quasar is the galactic equivalent of a supernova, although unlike a supernova, a quasar has achieved long term stability. How can this be?

The author proposes that the reason for the inherent stability of a quasar (as opposed to a supernova) is that the gravity in the galaxy-sized object does not become unduly unstable.

The presently accepted theory of quasars is that these objects are accompanied by black holes. Falling into the black hole, galactic matter then explodes and emits a "death cry" of radiation so bright that it is visible to us, billions of light years away (Davidson, 2002). If this description is correct, the author wonders why quasars are indeed so very persistent (as they appear to be).

While the author does not disagree too much with this conclusion, he has a somewhat different explanation of the internal processes involved. For example, the author is in agreement that a super-massive black hole and its inherently strong gravity are ultimately responsible for the powerful luminescence of the quasar. However, it may be that the tidal gravitational pressures created by the black hole on the massive stars bring the matter in the star into the resonant state.

Because the stars are in a more or less stable orbit (at a sideways velocity with respect to the black hole), they do not fall into the black hole. But, it may be the tremendous tidal pressures i.e., stretching forces, due to differences in the black hole's gravity from place to place on the stars themselves, that are responsible for the precise alignment of matter into the Bose-Einstein condensate state.

According to this new theory, the Bose-Einstein condensate state comes about as space-time undergoes a "phase transition" akin to that of ice turning into water or water into vapor. Hence, the gravastar forms a gravitational version of a Bose-Einstein condensate (Davidson, 2002).

So, the author proposes that it is the tremendous tidal pressures on the stars within a galaxy that may produce a Bose-Einstein resonance, similar to a phase transition in water. The wave functions of the matter in the stars may, thus, all align themselves bringing about a brilliant luminous state, an entire galaxy of stars into a more or less identical resonance. Hence, another name for a quasar might be a "gravagalaxy", or a galaxy packed with gravastars.

Optical Illusions And Wave Resonance's

Quasars may be optical illusions in this sense: quasars resonate precisely with our visual systems. If, however, our visual systems (and instruments) were to respond to some other wave phase, a quasar would not appear to shine so intensely and we would not observe them to shine so brightly. That is, it only because the phase of our retinas and that of a quasar match so precisely, that we are able to observe these objects at all at these very vast distances.

In this way, quasars and supernovas are finely tuned to our visual system's resonant frequencies, both in our retinas and within the visual regions of the brain. So, there may be other quasars or supernovas in the Universe out of tune with our visual systems that are shining brightly as we speak, but we cannot know about them. Some of these objects have been revealed to us by radio or other EM frequency astronomy. However, here we are speaking not only about the frequency of light emitted, but also about its phase. The positive reinforcement known as resonance takes place as a result of precise "phase" tuning as well as the tuning of frequency and wavelength.

If all of a galaxy (or a gravagalaxy) has roughly an identical wave function, the spectrum of the light emitted by the bright quasar may peak itself at a very narrow range of frequencies. So, it is not necessarily that the quasar emits electromagnetic radiation at all frequencies uniformly (as many galaxies do in a black body spectrum), but that the quasar may more narrowly focus its energies at more discrete bands on the electromagnetic spectrum. This may become a probable consequence of this model. See below for further information.

Conclusion

Therefore, a major probable prediction of this model concerns the spectrum of light emitted by a quasar. That is, the spectrum may be more narrowly focused than are ordinary stars or galaxies. If this is not observed to be the case, it may mean that the supernovae stars that compose the quasar are all focused at very different frequencies, thus, an ordinary black body curve (although extremely red shifted) is observed.

That is, on average, the supernova stars may all sum to that of black body spectrum, despite the fact that individually these stars do not. The reason for different resonant frequencies for each supernovae star may have to do with gravity, the distance that each star is from the super-massive black hole at the galactic core. Hence, any supernovae nearer to the hole will resonate differently (and emit light at different frequencies) than those stars that lie farther away from it.

It's actually a bit similar to violin strings that when added together produce a spectrum of sound, whereas the individual strings produce only a narrow range of sound. One also cannot help comparing this analogy with the views of Kepler, where each celestial sphere had its own set of musical harmonies outward from the Sun. However, in this case, we are speaking about the discrete spectral lines of "light" outward from a super-massive black hole and at the galactic center of a quasar.

Hence, outward from the black hole, the gravity falls off as the square of the distance (1 / d^2) and the discrete spectral band of each star has less energy, so a progressively longer wavelength of radiation emitted. Therefore, the further out from the black hole is the supernovae star, the less is the discrete band of radiation emitted. But, when added together, one arrives at the black body spectrum of the quasar we now observe.

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References

Davidson, K., March 25, 2002, The San Francisco Chronicle, Article --Rethinking Black Holes, Section A-4

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