Ultimate fate of the universe via a Bose-Einstein condensate

[Dale79J]

Dear all,

I have been reading Wonders of the Universe by Prof. Brian Cox. I enjoyed the TV programs and thought the book would also be interesting, which it is. In the last chapter of the book, and also discussed in the TV program, it talks about the end of the Universe in many trillions of years time. What is put forward is that black holes will evaporate and that all remaining matter will decay into photons. These photons will then be stretched by the expanding universe until they no longer have any energy as they reach absolute zero, at which point all energy in the universe will have been returned to the vacuum. I have a slightly different thought which I wanted to get feedback on. I’m OK with the evaporating black holes but to date there is no evidence that protons, electrons and neutrons have a half life and can therefore decay to give rise to the proposed end of the universe as mentioned above. Is it therefore at all possible that if matter cannot or does not decay that the following mechanism to return energy to the vacuum can occur. Black holes evaporate and all remaining matter will cool to absolute zero. At this point all matter, and photons for that matter will form a Bose-Einstein condensate and the energy of the universe will then be returned to vacuum. There is another post related to this on this forum without any replies - Questions on Einstein Bose condensate and end of Universe. I would be happy to hear others people thoughts on this as a mechanism to return energy to the vacuum.

Cheers,

Dale79J.

 

[Drakkith]

Bose-Einstein condensates only occur with materials that aren't fermions. Not all composite particles obey this, only certain ones such as Helium and Carbon.

 

[Dale79J]

Bose-Einstein condensates only occur with materials that aren't fermions. Not all composite particles obey this, only certain ones such as Helium and Carbon.

Fair point. On doing a bit more reading it appears that there are several atoms which can form a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The frist BEC was in Rb-87 atoms in 1995, and here is states that under certian conditions fermionic matter can form a BEC through Cooper pairing (http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/18915). This may not be applicable to the real situation in the latter stages of the universe, but for the bosons and composites which can form a BEC it, I assume, would certainly help them to "depart the universe". This leaves just two questions: Is anything at all know with regards to the half life decay of nucleons? If they do decay is there a mechanism which allows them all to form bosons and hence a BEC? - Will have to read up on this!

 

[Drakkith]

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been any evidence that a proton or neutron inside a nucleus will ever decay as long as the nucleus is stable.

 

[sardar]

I find this idea to be an interesting and thought-provoking concept. The idea of a Bose-Einstein condensate as the ultimate fate of the universe is certainly a unique and intriguing possibility. However, at this point, it is purely speculative and requires further research and evidence to support it.

Firstly, it is important to note that the concept of the ultimate fate of the universe is still a topic of ongoing scientific debate and research. While the idea of all matter decaying into photons and eventually reaching absolute zero is one possibility, there are also other theories such as the "Big Rip" or "Big Crunch" that suggest different outcomes for the universe.

In terms of the Bose-Einstein condensate, it is a state of matter that has been observed in laboratory conditions, but not in the vast scales of the universe. It is created when a large number of bosons (particles with integer spin) are cooled to near absolute zero, causing them to collapse into the same quantum state. While it is possible that all matter in the universe could eventually reach such a state, it is currently unknown if this is a feasible scenario.

Additionally, the idea of matter decaying into photons is based on the current understanding of the Standard Model of particle physics. However, as you mentioned, there is no evidence to suggest that protons, electrons, and neutrons have a half-life and can decay. This is an area of active research and further understanding of fundamental particles and their properties may provide more insight into the ultimate fate of the universe.

In summary, while the concept of a Bose-Einstein condensate as the ultimate fate of the universe is an intriguing idea, it is still largely speculative and requires further research and evidence to support it. As scientists, it is important to continue exploring and questioning these ideas in order to gain a deeper understanding of the universe and its potential fate.