idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instance:
Share on: 
10/28/2011 09:29

How to unbalance Nothingness

Axel Burchardt Stabsstelle Kommunikation/Pressestelle
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

    Physicists of the Universities Jena and Graz Calculate the Time Development of the Vacuum Decay

    Jena (Germany) Nothingness – this is the research subject-matter of a team of theoretical physicists from the Universities Jena (Germany) and Graz (Austria). “The ground state of our world can’t be described by the absence of all matter,” Professor Dr. Holger Gies from the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena and the Helmholtz-Institute Jena explains. ”This so-called quantum vacuum rather turns out to be a complex state of constantly fluctuating quantum fields with physical properties.”

    The world-wide community of physicists is hoping to be able to witness a particularly spectacular characteristic in a few years’ time: the spontaneous decay of the vacuum into pairs of particles of matter and antimatter in super strong electric fields. Due to the new research results of the Austro-German team of physicists, this goal came a few steps closer.

    Although first theoretical consideration concerning the spontaneous decay of the vacuum dates back to the year 1931, its comprehensive understanding is still in its infancy. „A great challenge in modern theoretical physics is the description of quantum fields out of equilibrium,” Professor Gies explains. “We are facing this problem in phase transitions in the early Universe as well as in many experiments in solid state physics." Therefore experimental proof of the vacuum decay – as it might be delivered by high intensity lasers in the near future – will provide knowledge exceeding this particular field.

    The scientists from Graz and Jena now succeeded calculating the time evolution of the vacuum decay in detail. ”Even we were surprised by the results," Professor Gies confesses. According to the results particles of matter and antimatter behave in a novel self-focusing way and therefore the possibility of discovering them is higher than expected. "The quantum vacuum has already had some surprises in store,” says the Heisenberg-Professor for Theoretical Physics. “To unbalance this nothingness could develop into a new prolific field of research."

    The results of this co-operation have just been published in the renowned scientific journal ‘Physical Review Letters’: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.180403.

    Original-Publication:
    F. Hebenstreit, R. Alkofer, H. Gies: Particle Self-Bunching in the Schwinger Effect in Spacetime-Dependent Electric Fields, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 180403 (2011), DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.180403

    Contact Details:
    Prof. Dr. Holger Gies
    Institute of Theoretical Physics of Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
    & Helmholtz-Institute Jena
    Max-Wien-Platz 1
    D-07743 Jena
    Tel.: 0049 (0)3641 / 947190
    Email: Holger.Gies[at]uni-jena.de


    More information:

    http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.180403 - Original-Publication;
    http://www.tpi.uni-jena.de/~gies/welcome.html - Prof. Dr. Holger Gies


    Images

    The Jena physicist Professor Dr. Holger Gies.
    The Jena physicist Professor Dr. Holger Gies.
    Photo: Anne Guenther/FSU
    None


    Criteria of this press release:
    Journalists, Scientists and scholars
    Physics / astronomy
    transregional, national
    Research results
    English


     

    The Jena physicist Professor Dr. Holger Gies.


    For download

    x

    Help

    Search / advanced search of the idw archives
    Combination of search terms

    You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.

    Brackets

    You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).

    Phrases

    Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.

    Selection criteria

    You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).

    If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).