Timelike Dimension Research Articles

Symmetry, Music and Water

There is a deep link existing between symmetry and nature that may be best apprehended by using group theory. In physics, giving a symmetry group is entirely equivalent to fix natural laws (Noether’s theorem). Within such a framework, it follows that all fundamental mechanical laws may be given by defining a group of symmetry operations belonging to the Gal (3,1) symmetry group having ten generators (3 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 10). The move to special relativity amounts simply to substitute another group ISO (3,1) to Gal (3,1) and having the same number of generators. In both cases, one immediately perceives that we live in universe with 3 dimensions of space and 1 dimension of time. A further progress could be made by looking for the symmetry group that leaves Maxwell’s equations invariant. The answer to this fundamental question is the group ISO (4,2) ⊗U (2) ⊗U (2) characterized by 23 generators: 15 = 10 + 5 for the conformal group ISO(4,2), 4 for U(2) and hence 8 = 4 + 4 for the compact part U(2) ⊗U(2) that could be related to the existence of quantum physics besides relativity. As ISO (3,1) is a sub-group of ISO (4,2), the two numbers 4 and 2 suggests that, taking into account the existence of light besides matter, we live in an universe having 4 spacelike dimensions and 2 time-like dimensions. Here, it is proposed that, as music is characterized by a scale-invariant symmetry operation (transposition by octaves) and that as time may be perceived differently in shamanic trance for instance, the two “new” dimensions of our universe may be related to music and consciousness. Related to the fifth dimension of music, the notion of diapason linking physical frequencies to a musical note is revisited. It is thus proposed to adopt a new A4 = 429.62 Hz value based on universal physical constants of our universe and on the mass of the water molecule H₂O, "The most abundant heteronuclear molecule in the entire universe". Demonstration is done that this new diapason is superior to other diapasons based on frequencies of 440 Hz or even 432 Hz.

Traversable Lorentzian wormhole on the Shtanov-Sahni braneworld with matter obeying the energy conditions

In this paper we have explored the possibility of constructing a traversable wormhole on the Shtanov-Sahni braneworld with a timelike extra dimension. We find that the Weyl curvature singularity at the throat of the wormhole can be removed with physical matter satisfying the NEC ρ + p ≥ 0, even in the absence of any effective Λ-term or any type of charge source on the brane. (The NEC is however violated by the effective matter description on the brane arising due to effects of higher dimensional gravity.) Besides satisfying NEC the matter constituting the wormhole also satisfies the Strong Energy Condition (SEC), ρ + 3p ≥ 0, leading to the interesting possibility that normal matter on the brane may be harnessed into a wormhole. Incidentally, these conditions also need to be satisfied to realize a non-singular bounce and cyclic cosmology on the brane [1] where both past and future singularities can be averted. Thus, such a cyclic universe on the brane, constituted of normal matter can naturally contain wormholes. The wormhole shape function on the brane with a time-like extra dimension represents the tubular structure of the wormhole spreading out at large radial distances much better than in wormholes constructed in a braneworld with a spacelike extra dimension and have considerably lower mass resulting in minimization of the amount of matter required to construct a wormhole. Wormholes in the Shtanov-Sahni (SS) braneworld also have sufficiently low tidal forces, facilitating traversability. Additionally they are found to be stable and exhibit a repulsive geometry. We are left with the intriguing possibility that both types of curvature singularity can be resolved with the SS model, which we discuss at the end of the concluding section.

Peratic phase transition by bulk-to-surface response

The study of dynamical phase transitions has been attracting considerable research efforts in the last decade. One theme of present interest is to search for exotic scenarios beyond the framework of equilibrium phase transitions. Here, we establish a duality between many-body dynamics and static Hamiltonian ground states for both classical and quantum systems. We construct frustration free Hamiltonians whose ground state phase transitions have rigorous duality to chaotic transitions in dynamical systems. By this duality, we show the corresponding ground state phase transitions are characterized by bulk-to-surface response, which are then dubbed "peratic" meaning defined by response to the boundary. For the classical system, we show how the time-like dimension emerges in the static ground states. For the quantum system, the ground state is a superposition of geometrical lines on a two dimensional array, which encode the dynamical Floquet evolution history of one dimensional disordered spin chains. Our prediction of peratic phase transition has direct consequences in quantum simulation platforms such as Rydberg atoms and superconducting qubits, as well as anisotropic spin glass materials. The discovery would shed light on the unification of dynamical phase transitions with equilibrium systems.

Fundamental asymmetry between space and time in quantum field theory

In 1 + 1 dimensions, space and time are geometrically interchangeable. The reason is that, if we switch the roles of the spacelike and the timelike dimensions, this only amounts to redefining the signature convention of the metric tensor. This establishes a mathematical duality between classical Klein–Gordon fields and classical tachyonic fields: one is the ‘space/time swapped’ version of the other. Here, we show that this duality breaks down completely in a quantum world. In quantum field theory, if we exchange space with time, we end up with non-canonical field theories that exhibit all sorts of paradoxical behaviours. Theories that should be stable are, instead, unstable, while theories that should be unstable are stable. Theories that should be causal are, instead, acausal. This formalizes a widespread (but often neglected) intuition: there is a fundamental (non-geometrical) asymmetry between space and time, which has a purely quantum origin, and does not exist in a classical world. Such asymmetry exists independently from the measurement problem, as it is encoded directly in the algebraic properties of the field operators.

Hidden Kac-Moody structures in the fermionic sector of five-dimensional supergravity

We study the supersymmetric quantum dynamics of the cosmological models obtained by reducing $D=5$ supergravity to one timelike dimension. This consistent truncation has fourteen bosonic degrees of freedom, while the quantization of the homogeneous gravitino field leads to a $2^{16}$--dimensional fermionic Hilbert space. We construct a consistent quantization of the model in which the wave function of the Universe is a $2^{16}$--component spinor %\textcolor{red}{of Spin(24,8)} depending on fourteen continuous coordinates, which satisfies eight Dirac-like wave equations (supersymmetry constraints) and one Klein-Gordon-like equation (Hamiltonian constraint). The fermionic part of the quantum Hamiltonian is built from operators that generate a $2^{16}$-dimensional representation of the (infinite-dimensional) maximally compact sub-algebra $K(G_2^{++})$ of the rank-4 hyperbolic Kac--Moody algebra $G_2^{++}$. The (quartic-in-fermions) squared-mass term $\widehat \mu^2$ entering the Klein-Gordon-like equation has several remarkable properties: (i) it commutes with the generators of $K(G_2^{++})$; and (ii) it is a quadratic polynomial in the fermion number $N_F \sim \overline\Psi \Psi$, and a symplectic fermion bilinear $C_F \sim \Psi C\Psi$. Some aspects of the structure of the solutions of our model are discussed, and notably the Kac-Moody meaning of the operators describing the reflection of the wave function on the fermion-dependent potential walls ("quantum fermionic Kac-Moody billiard").

Complexifying the Spacetime Algebra by Means of an Extra Timelike Dimension: Pin, Spin and Algebraic Spinors

Because of the isomorphism \(C \ell _{1,3}({\mathbb {C}})\cong C \ell _{2,3}({\mathbb {R}})\), it is possible to complexify the spacetime Clifford algebra \(C \ell _{1,3}({\mathbb {R}})\) by adding one additional timelike dimension to the Minkowski spacetime. In a recent work we showed how this treatment provide a particular interpretation of Dirac particles and antiparticles in terms of the new temporal dimension. In this article we thoroughly study the structure of the real Clifford algebra \(C \ell _{2,3}({\mathbb {R}})\) paying special attention to the isomorphism \(C \ell _{1,3}({\mathbb {C}})\cong C \ell _{2,3}({\mathbb {R}})\) and the embedding \(C \ell _{1,3}({\mathbb {R}})\subseteq C \ell _{2,3}({\mathbb {R}})\). On the first half of this article we analyze the Pin and Spin groups and construct an injective mapping \({\text {Pin}}(1,3)\hookrightarrow {\text {Spin}}(2,3)\), obtaining in particular elements in \({\text {Spin}}(2,3)\) that represent parity and time reversal. On the second half of this paper we study the spinor space of the algebra and prove that the usual structure of complex spinors in \(C \ell _{1,3}({\mathbb {C}})\) is reproduced by the Clifford conjugation inner product for real spinors in \(C \ell _{2,3}({\mathbb {R}})\).

Soft fragmentation on the celestial sphere

We develop two approaches to the problem of soft fragmentation of hadrons in a gauge theory for high energy processes. The first approach directly adapts the standard resummation of the parton distribution function’s anomalous dimension (that of twist-two local operators) in the forward scattering regime, using kT -factorization and BFKL theory, to the case of the fragmentation function by exploiting the mapping between the dynamics of eikonal lines on transverse-plane to the celestial-sphere. Critically, to correctly resum the anomalous dimension of the fragmentation function under this mapping, one must pay careful attention to the role of regularization, despite the manifest collinear or infra- red finiteness of the BFKL equation. The anomalous dependence on energy in the celestial case, arising due to the mismatch of dimensionality between positions and angles, drives the differences between the space-like and time-like anomalous dimension of parton densities, even in a conformal theory. The second approach adapts an angular-ordered evolution equation, but working in 4 − 2ϵ dimensions at all angles. The two approaches are united by demanding that the anomalous dimension in 4 − 2ϵ dimensions for the parton distribution function determines the kernel for the angular-ordered evolution to all orders.

Dynamical correlations and a quantum glass phase in a random hopping Bose–Hubbard model

We investigate a system of interacting bosons with random intersite tunnelling amplitudes. We describe these by introducing Gaussian-distributed hopping integrals into the standard Bose–Hubbard model. This system has been recently shown to exhibit a quantum phase transition to a glassy state. The latter is characterized by a quenched disorder of boson wave-function phases. In this aspect, the system resembles quantum spin-glass systems that attracted much attention. By exploiting this analogy, we employ the well-established methodology originated by Sherrington and Kirkpatrick, which bases on the replica trick and the Trotter–Suzuki expansion. This treatment transforms the original quantum problem into an effective classical one with an additional time-like dimension. Here, we focus on autocorrelation functions of canonical variables of the effective system in the time-like domain. Deep in the disordered phase, we find a highly dynamical nature of correlations in agreement with the expected short memory of the system. This behaviour weakens while approaching and passing the phase boundary, where in the glassy phase asymptotically non-vanishing correlations are encountered. Thus, the state features infinite memory, which is consistent with the quenched nature of glassy disorder with random but frozen boson phases.

Einstein’s E = mc2 Derivable from Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Relations

Heisenberg’s uncertainty relation can be written in terms of the step-up and step-down operators in the harmonic oscillator representation. It is noted that the single-variable Heisenberg commutation relation contains the symmetry of the S p ( 2 ) group which is isomorphic to the Lorentz group applicable to one time-like dimension and two space-like dimensions, known as the O ( 2 , 1 ) group. This group has three independent generators. The one-dimensional step-up and step-down operators can be combined into one two-by-two Hermitian matrix which contains three independent operators. If we use a two-variable Heisenberg commutation relation, the two pairs of independent step-up, step-down operators can be combined into a four-by-four block-diagonal Hermitian matrix with six independent parameters. It is then possible to add one off-diagonal two-by-two matrix and its Hermitian conjugate to complete the four-by-four Hermitian matrix. This off-diagonal matrix has four independent generators. There are thus ten independent generators. It is then shown that these ten generators can be linearly combined to the ten generators for Dirac’s two oscillator system leading to the group isomorphic to the de Sitter group O ( 3 , 2 ) , which can then be contracted to the inhomogeneous Lorentz group with four translation generators corresponding to the four-momentum in the Lorentz-covariant world. This Lorentz-covariant four-momentum is known as Einstein’s E = m c 2 .

Particle-antiparticle duality from an extra timelike dimension

It is a well known fact that the usual complex structure on the real Clifford Algebra (CA) of Minkowski spacetime can be obtained by adding an extra time-like dimension, instead of the usual complexification of the algebra. In this article we explore the consequences of this approach and reinterpret known results in this new context. We observe that Dirac particles and antiparticles at rest can be interpreted as eigenstates of the generator of rotations in the plane formed by the two time-like coordinates and find an effective finite scale for the extra dimension when no EM fields are present (without postulating compactness). In the case of non-vanishing EM fields, we find a gauge condition to preserve such a scale.

Poincaré Symmetry from Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Relations

It is noted that the single-variable Heisenberg commutation relation contains the symmetry of the S p ( 2 ) group which is isomorphic to the Lorentz group applicable to one time-like dimension and two space-like dimensions, known as the S O ( 2 , 1 ) group. According to Paul A. M. Dirac, from the uncertainty commutation relations for two variables, it possible to construct the de Sitter group S O ( 3 , 2 ) , namely the Lorentz group applicable to three space-like variables and two time-like variables. By contracting one of the time-like variables in S O ( 3 , 2 ) , it is possible to construct the inhomogeneous Lorentz group I S O ( 3 , 1 ) which serves as the fundamental symmetry group for quantum mechanics and quantum field theory in the Lorentz-covariant world. This I S O ( 3 , 1 ) group is commonly known as the Poincaré group.

Multi-Time Wave Functions Versus Multiple Timelike Dimensions

Multi-time wave functions are wave functions for multi-particle quantum systems that involve several time variables (one per particle). In this paper we contrast them with solutions of wave equations on a space-time with multiple timelike dimensions, i.e., on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold whose metric has signature such as ${+}{+}{-}{-}$ or ${+}{+}{-}{-}{-}{-}{-}{-}$, instead of ${+}{-}{-}{-}$. Despite the superficial similarity, the two behave very differently: Whereas wave equations in multiple timelike dimensions are typically mathematically ill-posed and presumably unphysical, relevant Schr\"odinger equations for multi-time wave functions possess for every initial datum a unique solution on the spacelike configurations and form a natural covariant representation of quantum states.

Extra-Dimensional “Metamaterials”: A Model of Inflation Due to a Metric Signature Transition

Lattices of topological defects, such as Abrikosov lattices and domain wall lattices often arise as metastable ground states in higher-dimensional field theoretical models. We demonstrate that such lattice states may be described as extra-dimensional metamaterials via higher-dimensional effective medium theory. A 4+1 dimensional extension of Maxwell electrodynamics with a compactified time-like dimension has been considered as an example. It is demonstrated that from the point of view of macroscopic electrodynamics an Abrikosov lattice state in such a 4+1 dimensional spacetime may be described as a uniaxial hyperbolic metamaterial. Extraordinary photons perceive this medium as a 3+1 dimensional Minkowski spacetime in which one of the original spatial dimensions (the optical axis of the metamaterial) plays the role of a new time-like coordinate. Since metric signature of this effective space-time depends on the Abrikosov lattice periodicity, the described model may be useful in studying metric signature transitions. A particular kind of metric signature transition understood as a macroscopic medium effect may emulate cosmological inflation.

Conformal (2 + 4)-braneworld

The 6D brane model is considered, where matter is trapped on the surface of a (2+4)-hyperboloid, as is suggested by the geometrical structure behind the 4D conformal group. The effective dimension of the bulk spacetime for matter fields is five, with the extra space-like and time-like domains. Using the embedding theory, the presence of the familiar factorizable 5D brane metrics in both domains is shown. These metrics with exponential warp factors are able to provide with the additional reduction of the effective spacetime dimensions down to four. It is demonstrated that the extra (1+1)-space is not simply connected and there is a gap in the range of the extra coordinates. This can explain the stability of the model in the domain with the time-like effective fifth dimension and the appearance of the cosmological constant due to the tachyon condensation. It is found that the model exhibits orbifold symmetry and thus is free from the fermion chirality problem.

Two-Dimensional Pulse Propagation without Anomalous Dispersion.

Anomalous dispersion is a surprising phenomenon associated with wave propagation in an even number of space dimensions. In particular, wave pulses propagating in two-dimensional space change shape and develop a tail even in the absence of a dispersive medium. We show mathematically that this dispersion can be eliminated by considering a modified wave equation with two geometric spatial dimensions and, unconventionally, two timelike dimensions. Experimentally, such a wave equation describes pulse propagation in an optical or acoustic medium with hyperbolic dispersion, leading to a fundamental understanding and new approaches to ultrashort pulse shaping in nanostructured metamaterials.

New asymptotic Anti-de Sitter solution with a timelike extra dimension in 5D relativity

In 5D relativity, the usual 4D cosmological constant is determined by the extra dimension. If the extra dimension is spacelike, one can get a positive cosmological constant Λ and a 4D de Sitter (dS) space. In this paper we present that, if the extra dimension is timelike oppositely, the negative Λ will be emerged and the induced 4D space will be an asymptotic Anti-de Sitter (AdS). Under the minimum assumption, we solve the Kaluza–Klein equation RAB=0 in a canonical system and obtain the AdS solution in a general case. The result shows that an AdS space is induced naturally from a Kaluza–Klein manifold on a hypersurface (brane). The Lagrangian of test particle indicates the equation of motion can be geodesics if the 4D metric is independent of extra dimension. The causality is well respected because it is appropriately defined by a null higher dimensional interval. In this 5D relativity, the holographic principle can be used safely because the brane is asymptotic Euclidean AdS in the bulk. We also explore some possible holographic duality implications about the field/operator correspondence and the two-points correlation functions.

Stability of Einstein static state universe in the spatially flat branemodels

Abstract With the assumption that a perfect fluid with a constant equation of state is the only energy component on the brane, we study the stability of Einstein static state solution under homogeneous and inhomogeneous scalar perturbations in both spatially flat Randall–Sundrum (RS) and Shtanov–Sahni (SS) braneworlds. We find that if the perfect fluid has a phantom-like property and the “Weyl fluid” originating from the projection of the bulk Weyl tensor onto the brane behaves like a radiation with positive energy density, the Einstein static state solution is stable in the SS braneworld, but unstable in the RS one. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the static state solution is also stable in the bulk with a timelike extra dimension. Thus, in the model where the extra dimension is timelike, our universe can stay at the Einstein static state past-eternally, which means that the big bang singularity might be resolved successfully by an emergent scenario.

Bianchi IX dynamics in bouncing cosmologies: homoclinic chaos and the BKL conjecture

We examine the dynamics of a Bianchi IX model with three scale factors on a 4-dim Lorentzian brane embedded in a 5-dim conformally flat empty bulk with a timelike extra dimension. The matter content is a pressureless perfect fluid restricted to the brane, with the embedding consistently satisfying the Gauss–Codazzi equations. The 4-dim Einstein equations on the brane reduce to a 6-dim Hamiltonian dynamical system with additional terms (due to the bulk–brane interaction) that avoid the singularity and implement nonsingular bounces in the model. We examine the complex Bianchi IX dynamics in its approach to the neighborhood of the bounce which replaces the cosmological singularity of general relativity. The phase space of the model presents (i) two critical points (a saddle-center–center and a center–center–center) in a finite region of phase space, (ii) two asymptotic de Sitter critical points at infinity, one acting as an attractor to late-time acceleration and (iii) a 2-dim invariant plane, which together organize the dynamics of the phase space. The saddle-center–center engenders in the phase space the topology of stable and unstable 4-dim cylinders R × S3, where R is a saddle direction and S3 is the center manifold of unstable periodic orbits, the latter being the nonlinear extension of the center–center sector. By a proper canonical transformation the degrees of freedom of the dynamics are separated into one degree connected with the expansion/contraction of the scales of the model, and two rotational degrees of freedom associated with the center manifold S3. The typical dynamical flow is thus an oscillatory mode about the orbits of the invariant plane. The stable and unstable cylinders are spanned by oscillatory orbits about the separatrix towards the bounce, leading to the homoclinic transversal intersection of the cylinders, as shown numerically in two distinct simulations. The homoclinic intersection manifold has the topology of R × S2 consisting of homoclinic orbits biasymptotic to the center manifold S3. This behavior defines a chaotic saddle associated with S3, indicating that the intersection points of the cylinders have the nature of a Cantor set with compact support S2. This is an invariant signature of chaos in the model. We discuss the connection between these properties of the dynamics, namely the oscillatory approach to the bounce together with its chaotic behavior, and analogous features present in the BKL conjecture in general relativity.

Quantum supersymmetric Bianchi IX cosmology

We study the quantum dynamics of a supersymmetric squashed three-sphere by dimensionally reducing (to one timelike dimension) the action of $D=4$ simple supergravity for a $SU(2)$-homogeneous (Bianchi IX) cosmological model. The quantization of the homogeneous gravitino field leads to a 64-dimensional fermionic Hilbert space. After imposition of the diffeomorphism constraints, the wave function of the Universe becomes a 64-component spinor of spin(8,4) depending on the three squashing parameters, which satisfies Dirac-like, and Klein-Gordon-like, wave equations describing the propagation of a ``quantum spinning particle'' reflecting off spin-dependent potential walls. The algebra of the supersymmetry constraints and of the Hamiltonian one is found to close. One finds that the quantum Hamiltonian is built from operators that generate a 64-dimensional representation of the (infinite-dimensional) maximally compact subalgebra of the rank-3 hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebra $A{E}_{3}$. The (quartic-in-fermions) squared-mass term ${\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\mu}}}^{2}$ entering the Klein-Gordon-like equation has several remarkable properties: (i) it commutes with all the other (Kac-Moody-related) building blocks of the Hamiltonian; (ii) it is a quadratic function of the fermion number ${N}_{F}$; and (iii) it is negative in most of the Hilbert space. The latter property leads to a possible quantum avoidance of the singularity (``cosmological bounce''), and suggests imposing the boundary condition that the wave function of the Universe vanish when the volume of space tends to zero (a type of boundary condition which looks like a final-state condition when considering the big crunch inside a black hole). The space of solutions is a mixture of ``discrete-spectrum states'' (parametrized by a few constant parameters, and known in explicit form) and of continuous-spectrum states (parametrized by arbitrary functions entering some initial-value problem). The predominantly negative values of the squared-mass term lead to a ``bottle effect'' between small-volume universes and large-volume ones, and to a possible reduction of the continuous spectrum to a discrete spectrum of quantum states looking like excited versions of the Planckian-size universes described by the discrete states at fermionic levels ${N}_{F}=0$ and 1.

Physics in Discrete Spaces: On Space-Time Organization

We see the whole universe as a collection of very simple binary physical systems. With this assumption, we put forward a detailed model of discrete spaces. Our own universe with its four dimensions, shared between one time-like dimension and three space-like dimensions, as well as the Minkowski metrics, are emerging properties of the model.