Scientists have long worked to reconcile relativistic descriptions of the macroscopic cosmos with the quantum mechanical operations of subatomic structures as formulated by the quantum pioneers Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schrödinger. To this day the struggle persists, with proponents of string theory attempting to bridge the gap. However, it does appear that at the earliest of times quantum mechanical principles remained intact, making it the more fundamental property of the universe.
This offers some interesting possibilities, in that quantum mechanics allows for a reality in which the seemingly impossible can happen–but only within certain limits. According to quantum theory, an object (such as a particle) does not have an exact position or amount of energy. Instead, these values are determined by a probability distribution function. This notion violates our common senses. Some of the more practical among us would undoubtedly try to design an “experiment” that precisely identifies these variables. However, quantum mechanical principles would always frustrate their efforts due to restrictions imposed by the famous uncertainty principle developed by Heisenberg, for it places a fundamental limit on the measurement accuracy of any experiment. In order to precisely know an object’s position (x), we must sacrifice accuracy in the measurement of its momentum (p):
ΔxΔp≥h/2Π, where h is Planck’s Constant (6.62377 X 10-34 joule-sec)
We see a similar limitation with respect to the measurement of a particle’s energy (ΔE) and the time duration used to measure it (Δt):
ΔEΔt≥h/2Π
Since h is such a small number, these uncertainties are quite negligible in our worldly and celestial dealings. However, in the world of the minuscule, they cannot be so easily dismissed. The field of quantum mechanics offers more than just a limit on how accurately we can measure in a small unit of time, for it actually allows particles to take on exaggerated values within that window and behave accordingly. One example of this is the effect known as quantum mechanical tunneling in semiconductors. Here an electron essentially passes “through” a normally insulating material, even though it appears to have insufficient energy to do so. However, quantum principles enable it to take on an exaggerated energy value long enough to “jump” through the gap, provided the material is thin enough (i.e., the transit time through is short enough).
Moreover, this ability to essentially “borrow” energy extends to the degree that particles can appear out of the very vacuum of space. Einstein showed through his famous mass equivalence formula (E = mc2) that energy can be converted to mass and vice versa. Given enough of a fluctuation, sufficient energy is present to actually coalesce into matter. These “virtual” particles a short time later “repay” this energy and disappear again. One would think that this would rarely happen due to the considerable increase in energy required; quite to the contrary, it happens routinely. We can confirm the presence of these virtual particles because while they exist, they produce microscopic perturbations (perhaps, only one part in a billion) in the energy of the atoms or electrons they encounter in their brief lives. In a Nobel Prize winning effort, Willis Lamb specifically measured this perturbed energy state in the hydrogen atom in 1953.
The seeming magic of quantum mechanics does not end there, for it even allows for the creation of matter from a state of zero net energy. The trick involves first splitting the “nothing” into both positive and negative energy. Quantum theory then allows the positive energy to be converted into particles and antiparticles, with the negative energy existing as the gravity between them. In the case of our universe, it can be shown that the negative energy from gravity balances out the positive energy from its mass. Essentially, quantum mechanics allows for a “bubble” of spacetime to spontaneously come into creation.
To some scientists, this would constitute an essentially random element to the universe’s origin. The universe “may” or “may not” have come to be, its existence dictated entirely by chance. Many find this reliance on chance disturbing and diligently seek a definitive mechanism to drive the creation process. While these two positions initially seem at odds, a properly adopted super-cosmological perspective may eliminate the contradiction. Our notion of the limits imposed by “random events” or “a finite probability event” intricately link to our notion of time. As we inhabit a reality so dramatically framed by the ever ticking clock, we make a significant distinction between an event that will directly result from an action (i.e., a high likelihood of occurrence) and one that has only the smallest probability of actualization (i.e., not likely).
Einstein bestowed on us the inseparable link between space and time with his concept of merged spacetime. From this, we can conclude that prior to the Big Bang, since space did not exist–neither did time. While this notion will strike most as quite bizarre, it is nonetheless the case. Under these conditions, just the possibility that an event could occur, no matter how unlikely, might be enough for actualization. The “seed” for the universe would be its mere possibility according to quantum mechanics.
Whatever the causal mechanism, using data from WMAP and other scientific observations, cosmologists have determined that the universe began approximately 14 billion years ago–give or take a few hundred million years. Starting as a singularity smaller than the size of an atom, the universe “cracked” open (metaphorically not too different from the cosmic eggs of ancient myth), and rapidly expanded in spacetime. Our newborn universe consisted of a dense soup of neutrinos and antineutrinos, their antimatter counterpart. These immediately annihilated each other in a tremendous burst of energy. However, due to an ever so slight imbalance (one-in-a-billion), a residual amount of matter survived. While the amount of observable matter seems immense, it accounts for no more than 5% of the universe’s composition. Under the widely accepted double dark theory, astrophysicists believe that another 27% exists as “dark matter” and the vast majority (68%) as “dark energy.” Dark matter is simply matter that does not emit electromagnetic radiation (i.e., light or radio waves) but still exerts gravitational attraction. We can, therefore, measure it by its effect on light passing by. However, the exact nature of dark energy is still to be determined.
Considering the immense age of the universe, an astounding amount of transformation took place within the first few minutes. Modern physics has allowed us to see as far back as 10-43 seconds, known as the Grand Unification Epoch. At this point, all of the forces of nature were unified as one. However, this period would be short-lived. In the smallest fraction of the first second of time (ending at 10-34 sec), the proto-universe experienced a period of rapid inflation–increasing in size more than ten thousand trillion trillion times (1028 X). From this point onward, the universe expanded at a still considerable but much slower rate, as predicted by the Big Bang. This rapid expansion produced a more or less homogeneous universe but one in which the ever so slight quantum fluctuations were now preserved on a grand scale. These fluctuations are primarily responsible for where matter, and hence the galaxies, would form.
Coincident with this expansion, the universe began to cool. This cooling allowed three of the fundamental forces of nature (strong nuclear, weak nuclear and electromagnetic) to decouple from their unified state and direct the assemblage of smaller subatomic particles. After only three minutes, protons, and neutrons could now stably bind to form atomic nuclei.
It would take an additional 300,000 years for the temperature to cool sufficiently for the formation of stable atoms (mainly hydrogen and helium) and a billion years for this early matter to clump together under the force of gravity.