Thursday, March 31, 2016

Why Mersenne primes are so special?

Mersenne primes are central in TGD based world view. p-Adic thermodynamics combined with p-adic length scale hypothesis stating that primes near powers of two are physically preferred provides a nice understanding of elementary particle mass spectrum. Mersenne primes Mk=2k-1, where also k must be prime, seem to be preferred. Mersenne prime labels hadronic mass scale (there is now evidence from LHC for two new hadronic physics labelled by Mersenne and Gaussian Mersenne), and weak mass scale. Also electron and tau lepton are labelled by Mersenne prime. Also Gaussian Mersennes MG,k=(1+i)k-1 seem to be important. Muon is labelled by Gaussian Mersenne and the range of length scales between cell membrane thickness and size of cell nucleus contains 4 Gaussian Mersennes!

What gives Mersenne primes so special physical status in TGD Universe? I have considered this problem many times during years. The key idea is that natural selection is realized in much more general sense than usually thought, and has chosen them and corresponding p-adic length scales. Particles characterized by p-adic length scales should be stable in some well-defined sense.

Since evolution in TGD corresponds to generation of information, the obvious guess is that Mersenne primes are information theoretically special. Could the fact that 2k-1 represents almost k bits be of significance? Or could Mersenne primes characterize systems, which are information theoretically especially stable?

In the following a more refined TGD inspired quantum information theoretic argument based on stability of entanglement against state function reduction, which would be fundamental process governed by Negentropy Maximization Principle (NMP) and requiring no human observer, will be discussed.

How to achieve stability against state function reductions?

TGD provides actually several ideas about how to achieve stability against state function reductions. This stability would be of course marvellous fact from the point of view of quantum computation since it would make possible stable quantum information storage. Also living systems could apply this kind of storage mechanism.

  1. p-Adic physics leads to the notion of negentropic entanglement (NE) for which number theoretic entanglement entropy is negative and thus measures genuine, possibly conscious information assignable to entanglement (ordinary entanglement entropy measures the lack of information about the state of either entangled system). NMP favors the generation of NE. NE can be however transferred from system to another (stolen using less diplomatically correct expression!), and this kind of transfer is associated with metabolism. This kind of transfer would be the most fundamental crime: biology would be basically criminal activity! Religious thinker might talk about original sin.

    In living matter NE would make possible information storage. In fact, TGD inspired theory of consciousness constructed as a generalization of quantum measurement theory in Zero Energy Ontology (ZEO) identifies the permanent self of living system (replaced with a more negentropic one in biological death, which is also a reincarnation) as the boundary of CD, which is not affected in subsequent state function reductions and carries NE. The changing part of self - sensory input and cognition - can be assigned with opposite changing boundary of CD.

  2. Also number theoretic stability can be considered. Suppose that one can assign to the system some extension of algebraic numbers characterizing the WCW coordinates ("world of classical worlds") parametrizing the space-time surface (by strong form of holography (SH) the string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces continuable to 4-D preferred extremal) associated with it.

    This extension of rationals and corresponding algebraic extensions of p-adic numbers would define the number fields defining the coefficient fields of Hilbert spaces (it might be necessary to assume that the coefficients belong to the extension of rationals also in p-adic sector although they can be regarded as p-adic numbers). Assume that you have an entangled system with entanglement coefficients in this number field. Suppose you want to diagonalize the corresponding density matrix. The eigenvalues belong in general case to a larger algebraic extension since they correspond to roots of a characteristic polynomials assignable to the density matrix. Could one say, that this kind of entanglement is stable (at least to some degree) against state function reduction since it means going to an eigenstate which does not belong to the extension used? Reader can decide!

  3. Hilbert spaces are like natural numbers with respect to direct sum and tensor product. The dimension of the tensor product is product mn of the dimensions of the tensor factors. Hilbert space with dimension n can be decomposed to a tensor product of prime Hilbert spaces with dimensions which are prime factors of n. In TGD Universe state function reduction is a dynamical process, which implies that the states in state spaces with prime valued dimension are stable against state function reduction since one cannot even speak about tensor product decomposition, entanglement, or reduction of entanglement. These state spaces are quantum indecomposable and would be thus ideal for the storage of quantum information!

    Interestingly, the system consisting of k qubits have Hilbert space dimension D=2k and is thus maximally unstable against decomposition to D=2-dimensional tensor factors! In TGD Universe NE might save the situation. Could one imagine a situation in which Hilbert space with dimension Mk=2k-1 stores the information stably? When information is processed this state space would be mapped isometrically to 2k-dimensional state space making possible quantum computations using qubits. The outcome of state function reduction halting the computation would be mapped isometrically back to Mk-D space. Note that isometric maps generalizing unitary transformations are an essential element in the proposal for the tensor net realization of holography and error correcting codes (see this).

    Can one imagine any concrete realization for this idea? This question will be considered in the sequel.

How to realize Mk=2k-1-dimensional Hilbert space physically?

One can imagine at least three physical realizations of Mk=2k-1-dimensional Hilbert space.

  1. The set with k elements has 2k subsets. One of them is empty set and cannot be physically realized. Here the reader might of course argue that if they are realized as empty boxes, one can realize them. If empty set has no physical realization, the wave functions in the set of non-empty subsets with 2k-1 elements define 2k-1-dimensional Hilbert space. If 2k-1 is Mersenne prime, this state state space is stable against state function reductions since one cannot even speak about entanglement!

    To make quantum computation possible one must map this state space to 2k dimensional state space by isometric imbedding. This is possible by just adding a new element to the set and considering only wave functions in the set of subsets containing this new element. Now also the empty set is mapped to a set containing only this new element and thus belongs to the state space. One has 2k dimensions and quantum computations are possible. When the computation halts, one just removes this new element from the system, and the data are stored stably!

  2. Second realization relies on k bits represented as spins such that 2k-1 is Mersenne prime. Suppose that the ground state is spontaneously magnetized state with k+l parallel spins, with the l spins in the direction of spontaneous magnetization and stabilizing it. l>1 is probably needed to stabilize the direction of magnetization: l ≤ k suggests itself as the first guess. Here thermodynamics and a model for spin-spin interaction would give a better estimate.

    The state with the k spins in direction opposite to that for l spins would be analogous to empty set. Spontaneous magnetization disappears, when a sufficient number of spins is in direction opposite to that of magnetization. Suppose that k corresponds to a critical number of spins in the sense that spontaneous magnetization occurs for this number of parallel spins. Quantum superpositions of 2k-1 states for k spins would be stable against state function reduction also now.

    The transformation of the data to a processable form would require an addition of m≥ 1 spins in the direction of the magnetization to guarantee that the state with all k spins in direction opposite to the spontaneous magnetization does not induce spontaneous magnetization in opposite direction. Note that these additional stabilizing spins are classical and their direction could be kept fixed by a repeated state function reduction (Zeno effect). One would clearly have a critical system.

  3. Third realization is suggested by TGD inspired view about Boolean consciousness. Boolean logic is represented by the Fock state basis of many-fermion states. Each fermion mode defines one bit: fermion in given mode is present or not. One obtains 2k states. These states have different fermion numbers and in ordinary positive energy ontology their realization is not possible.

    In ZEO situation changes. Fermionic zero energy states are superpositions of pairs of states at opposite boundaries of CD such that the total quantum numbers are opposite. This applies to fermion number too. This allows to have time-like entanglement in which one has superposition of states for which fermion numbers at given boundary are different. This kind of states might be realized for super-conductors to which one at least formally assigns coherent state of Cooper pairs having ill-defined fermion number.

    Now the non-realizable state would correspond to fermion vacuum analogous to empty set. Reader can of course argue that the bosonic degrees of freedom assignable to the space-time surface are still present. I defend this idea by saying that the purely bosonic state might be unstable or maybe even non-realizable as vacuum state and remind that also bosons in TGD framework consist of pairs of fundamental fermions.

    If this state is effectively decoupled from the rest of the Universe, one has 2k-1-dimensional state space and states are stable against state function reduction. Information processing becomes possible by adding some positive energy fermions and corresponding negative energy fermions at the opposite boundaries of CD. Note that the added fermions do not have time-like quantum entanglement and do not change spin direction during time evolution.

    The proposal is that Boolean consciousness is realized in this manner and zero energy states represents quantum Boolean thoughts as superposition of pairs (b1⊗ b2) of positive and negative energy states and having identification as Boolean statements b1→ b2. The mechanism would allow both storage of thoughts as memories and their processing by introducing the additional fermion.

So: why Mersenne primes would be so special?

Returning to the original question "Why Mersenne primes are so special?". A possible explanation is that elementary particle or hadron characterized by a p-adic length scale p= Mk=2k-1 both stores and processes information with maximal effectiveness. This would not be surprising if p-adic physics defines the physical correlates of cognition assumed to be universal rather than being restricted to human brain.

In adelic physics p-dimensional Hilbert space could be naturally associated with the p-adic adelic sector of the system. Information storage could take place in p=Mk=2k-1 phase and information processing (cognition) would take place in 2k-dimensional state space. This state space would be reached in a phase transition p=2k-1→ 2 changing effective p-adic topology in real sector and genuine p-adic topology in p-adic sector and replacing padic length scale ∝ p1/2≈ 2k/2 with k-nary 2-adic length scale ∝ 2k/2.

Electron is characterized by the largest not completely super-astrophysical Mersenne prime M127 and corresponds to k=127 bits. Intriguingly, the secondary p-adic time scale of electron corresponds to .1 seconds defining the fundamental biorhythm of 10 Hz.

This proposal suffers from deficiencies. It does not explain why also Gaussian Mersennes are special. Gaussian Mersennes correspond ordinary primes near power of 2 but not so near as Mersenne primes are. Neither does it explain why also more general primes p≈ 2k seem to be preferred. Furthermore, p-adic length scale hypothesis generalizes and states that primes near powers of at least small primes q: p≈ qk are special at least number theoretically. For instance, q=3 seems to be important for music experience and also q=5 might be important (Golden Mean).

Could the proposed model relying on criticality generalize. There would be p<2k-dimensional state space allowing isometric imbedding to 2k-dimensional space such that the bit configurations orthogonal to the image would be unstable in some sense. Say against a phase transition changing the direction of magnetization. One can imagine the variants of above described mechanism also now. For q>2 one should consider pinary digits instead of bits but the same arguments would apply (except in the case of Boolean logic).

For a summary of earlier postings see Links to the latest progress in TGD.

See the chapter Unified Number Theoretic Vision of "Physics as Generalized Number Theory" or the article Why Mersenne primes are so special?.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a great post.. I cant wait to use TGD theory to build a quantum computer some day. however, I stumbled across this paper while investigating the Riemann surface aspects of my latest paper on zeta where im trying to construct the hilbert-polya operator or something like that. Anyway, you must read

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1206.3941.pdf

it has TGD written all over it, and im trying to figure out how it applies to the Riemann surfaces defined implictly in my article at http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.03707

anyway besides that thought.. I guess maybe the Laplacian of the logarithmic derivative of the hardy z function defines a Kahler manifold? I dont know about primes... i dont really like them myself, they are like weeds that just pop up everywhere... and spooks obsess about crypto and "Security" .. lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitian_manifold

Anonymous said...

49th: 2^74,207,281-1
September 17, 2015/January 7, 2016

Anonymous said...

meh.. numerical searches are boring, wake me up when someone finds a closed-form expression for the n-th Mersenne prime

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015NJPh...17f3040F

I Hate Google said...

http://www.math.waikato.ac.nz/~kab/zetatab.html

8-letter encoding of the zeta zeros.. I wonder if any DNA sequences could be constructed :)

Stephen A. Crowley said...

Holy crap! I just noticed something

http://www.physicsoverflow.org/20096/what-would-implication-real-leptoquark-signal-about-650-gev

From page 7 of http://www.math.waikato.ac.nz/~kab/papers/zeta.pdf

he following patterns are observed: A and D repeat, andthe repeating blocks alternate, other than the occasional C and B, which also might repeat. F and G are rare and E or H even more so. The single occurrence of E is at zero number 379 near 650.669, and that of H at zero number 289 near 527.904.

"In the case of the 13 exceptional zeros there is just one separatrix which
loops around the zero coming from infinity and tending to it in a NW
direction."

The first 500 critical zeros have the encoding:
ADADADDADAADDADAAADAADADADDAADDAACAAADDBADDADADDAADADAADDAAADDDBDDABADCAAADADBADDDADCDDAADDADADDDAADCDABACCAAADADBBDDAABADDABBGAADAADDDFADDADAACDAAADADAAADDAADBDDDABDDADAAACDAAADDDDABCCDBBAADDAAAGCADAADDCBBDDDDADFDDAAAADADDBADDAADAAGADAADDADDBADDABDA
DADAAFCDADADADCAAADDDADAADDDAAADADDAAAHABADADDDCABDDDAABAADDABADCBDAAADDDAADADDDDAACDAADADADDAAADDDADABDDCDBADDACAAADGAABAADDDABEGCDAABAADDDBAACAADDFAGCDAADDADAAABDDDADAADACCAADDDADADBDCABAADCCDDAADDDDBCBDDDADAAGDADAAAADDAAADDCADDABCCDAAADDADDAAACDAA

this symbolic pattern is also a function of the square of the curvature of the holomorphic flow of zeta


Matpitka6@gmail.com said...

To anonymous:

I do ot know what the coding letters A,...mean.

In any case, DNA sequence can be regarded as a number expressed in basis 4: as sum of powers of 4 so that any number you find in Nature can be regarded as DNA sequence. This would be of course trivial.

Anonymous said...

Yes that part would be trivial.. sorry my attempt at humor didnt translate.Probably some topological properties result in stability of some sort.. Kind of like writing ones initials in the dirt, and then saying "hey everyone look". There is actually some universality theorem that says any holomorphic function can be represented by suitable mapping of the surface defined by the zeta function or its descendents/ancestors, as the case may be

Still though... the fact that 13 of the infinity of points seems special and related the fact that the weird "bump" (whatever that is. im no particle physicist) at 650 is too unlikely to be a fluke, but maybe so

Stephen A. Crowley said...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_function_universality

Matpitka6@gmail.com said...


Concerning leptoquark, the implications depend on what one means with leptoquark. In GUTs leptons can transform to quarks and proton stability is at risk.

In TGD B and L are separately conserved and leptoquarks can be tolerated. They would be pairs of quark and lepton at fundamental level and could decay to quark and lepton.

Addition of covariantly constant right-handed neutrino to partonic 2-surface carrying 1 fundamental fermion generates a leptoquark of very special kind.

I am still trying to decide whether this state is a genuine sfermion or whether the state obtained in this manner is equivalent with the original one so that super gauge transformation would be in question. If covariantly constant right handed neutrino corresponds to a pure super-gauge degree of freedom then the search for sparticles would produce nothing.

N=2 superconformal invariance would be in question and it has strange property that Ramond (fermionic) and Neveu-Scwartz representations of this algebra are equivalent. Would this be equivalent with the pure gauge character of the covariantly constant right-handed neutrino?


Matpitka6@gmail.com said...


This ability of zeta function to simulate arbitrary analytic function in arbitrary accuracy is really fascinating. It would be nice to find physical interpretation or application.

Stephen A. Crowley said...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virasoro_algebra#Generalizations

This is new to me.. I never did grasp these algebras from a purely abstract definition but now that I have some functions and familiar vector fields to apply it to I think I can learnn..

The 650gev thing is maybe a numerological leap of association but it's interesting.


I'm leaning towards the pure supergauge idea, that's probably why SUSY evidence hasn't turned up

Stephen A. Crowley said...

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-04-scientists-artificial-molecules.html Ifor u reado the Knoff article referenced in my artciel, it says zeta has to do with confidence figuratiions of spin chains and polymers and statistical physics.. and then the holomotphic flow which I'm tying to understand how relates to Ricci flow now..

Stephen A. Crowley said...

Sorry, Imy not good at typing on this silly pieces of glass

Matti Pitkänen said...


The question about whether the addition of covariantly constant right handed neutrino (nu_R) is genuine buildup of sfermion from fermion on pure supergauge transformation reduces to the question whether fermion and right-handed neutrino have the same spin quantization axis automatically so that their spin directions correlate. This brings in interaction although nu_R has no electroweak or gravitational interactions with other particles. If they do not correlate their spin directions do not correlate and pure gauge supersymmetry is in question. One cannot assign to covariantly constant right-handed neutrino fermionic ceation operator so that this seems to be the case. It is zero mode as of might say. Strange that I do not find any really convincing argument pro or con.