Saturday, August 31, 2019

But can one calculate anything?

During this summer a dramatic progress in the understanding of SUSY in TGD framework occurred. As a consequence, there is now a rather concrete procedure for constructing S-matrix and precise formulation of quantum criticality. The simplest formulation of TGD involves only quarks, and leptons can be seen as local 3-quark composites - spartners of quarks.

The process from an idea to a precise mathematical theory took 41 years and forced a generalization of entire physics so that it is number theoretically universal and describes also the correlates of cognition. Consciousness theory becomes part of TGD based physics. Quantum physics is generalized considerably: hierarchy of Planck constants is one implication. Second deep implication is zero energy ontology (ZEO) allowing solve the basic paradox of quantum measurement theory.

In TGD framework M8-H duality allows to geometrize the notion of super-twistor in the sense that at the level of M8 different components of super-field correspond to components of super-octonion each of which corresponds to a space-time surfaces satisfying minimal surface equations with string world sheets as singularities - this is geometric counterpart for masslessness.

New view about SUSY

The progress in understanding of M8-H duality throws also light to the problem whether SUSY is realized in TGD and what SUSY breaking cold mean. It is now rather clear that sparticles are predicted and SUSY remains exact but that p-adic thermodynamics causes thermal massivation: unlike Higgs mechanism, this massivation mechanism is universal and has nothing to do with dynamics. This is due to the fact that zero energy states are superpositions of states with different masses. The selection of p-adic prime characterizing the sparticle causes the mass splitting between members of super-multiplets although the mass formula is same for all of them. Super-octonion components of polynomials have different orders so that also the extension of rational assignable to them is different and therefore also the ramified primes so that p-adic prime as one them can be different for the members of SUSY multiplet and mass splitting is obtained.

The question how to realize super-field formalism at the level of H=M4× CP2 led to a dramatic progress in the identification of elementary particles and SUSY dynamics. The most surprising outcome was the possibility to interpret leptons and corresponding neutrinos as local 3-quark composites with quantum numbers of anti-proton and anti-neutron. Leptons belong to the same super-multiplet as quarks and are antiparticles of neutron and proton as far quantum numbers are consided. One implication is the understanding of matter-antimatter asymmetry. Also bosons can be interpreted as local composites of quark and anti-quark.

Hadrons and perhaps also hadronic gluons would still correspond to the analog of monopole phase in QFTs. Homology charge could appear as a space-time correlate for color at space-time level and explain color confinement. Also color octet variants of weak bosons, Higgs, and Higgs like particle and the predicted new pseudo-scalar are predicted. They could explain the successes of conserved vector current hypothesis (CVC) and partially conserved axial current hypothesis (PCAC).

One ends up with an improved understanding of quantum criticality and the relation between its descriptions at M8 level and H-level. Polynomials describing a hierarchy of dark matters describe also a hierarchy of criticalities and one can identify inclusion hierarchies as sub-hierarchies formed by functional composition of polynomials: the criticality is criticality for the polynomials interpreted as p-adic polynomials in O(p)=0 approximation meaning the presence of multiple roots in this approximation.

Connection of SUSY and second quantization

The linear combinations monomials of theta parameters appearing in super-fields are replaced in case of hermitian H super coordinates consisting of combinations of monomials with vanishing quark number. For super-spinors of H the monomials carry odd quark number. Monomials of theta parameters are replaced by local monomials of quark oscillator operators labelled besides spin and weak isospin also by points of cognitive representation with imbedding space coordinates in an extension of rationals defining the adele. Discretization allows anti-commutators which are Kronecker deltas rather than delta functions. If continuum limit makes sense, normal ordering must be assumed to avoid delta functions at zero coming from the contractions.

The monomials (not only the coefficients appearing in them) are solved from generalized classical field equations and are linearly related to the monomials at boundary of CD playing the role of quantum fields and classical field equations determine the analogs of propagators.

The Wick contractions of quark-antiquark monomials appearing in the expansion of super-coordinate of H could define the analog of radiative corrections in discrete approach. M8-H duality and number theoretic vision require that the number of non-vanishing Wick contractions is finite. The number of contractions is bounded by the finite number of points in cognitive representation and increases with the degree of the octonionic polynomial and gives rise to a discrete coupling constant evolution parameterized by the extensions of rationals. The polynomial composition hierarchies correspond to inclusion hierarchies for isomorphic sub-algebras of super-symplectic algebra having interpretation in terms of inclusions of hyper-finite factors of type II1.

Quark oscillator operators in cognitive representation correspond to quark field q. Only terms with quark number 1 appear in q and leptons emerge in Kähler action as local 3-quark composites. Internal consistency requires that q must be the super-spinor field satisfying super Dirac equation. This leads to a self-referential condition qs=q identifying q and its super-counterpart qs. The condition has interpretation in terms of a fixed point of iteration and expression of quantum criticality. The coefficients of various terms in q analogous to coupling constants can be fixed from this condition so that one obtains discrete number theoretical coupling constant evolution. The basic equations are quantum criticality condition q=qs, Dα,sΓαs=0 coming from Kähler action, and the super-Dirac equation Dsq=0.

Could the exponent of super-Kähler function as vacuum functional define S-matrix as its matrix elements

Consider first the key ideas - some of them new - formulated as questions.

  1. Could one see SUSY in TGD sense as a counterpart for the quantization in the sense of QFT so that oscillator operators replace theta parameters and would become fermionic oscillator operators labelled by spin and electroweak spin - as proposed originally - and by selected points of 3-surface of light-cone boundary with imbedding space coordinates in extension of rationals? One would have analog of fermion field in lattice identified as a number theoretic cognitive representation for given extension of rationals. The new thing would be allowance of local composites of oscillator operators having interpretation in terms of analogs for the components of super-field.

    SUSY in TGD sense would be realized by allowing local composites of oscillator operators containing 4+4 quark oscillator operators at most. At continuum limit normal ordering would produce delta functions at origin unless one assumes normal ordering from beginning. For cognitive representations one would have only Kronecker deltas and one can consider the possibility that normal ordering is not present. The vanishing of normal ordering terms above some number of them suggested to be the dimension for the extension of rationals would give rise to a discrete coupling constant evolution due to the contractions of fermionic oscillator operators.

  2. What is dynamical in the superpositions of oscillator operator monomials? Are the coefficients dynamical? Or are the oscillator operators themselves dynamical - this would mean a QFT type reduction to single particle level? The latter option seems to be correct. Oscillator operators are labelled by points of cognitive representation and in continuum case define an analog of quantum spinor field, call it q. This suggests that this field satisfies the super counter part of modified Dirac equation and must involve also super part formed from the monomials of q and qbar. This however requires the replacement of q with qs in super-Dirac operator and super-coordinates hs and one ends up with an iteration q→ qs→ ...

    The only solution to the paradoxical situation is that one has self-referential equation q=qs having interpretation in terms of quantum criticality fixing the coefficients of terms in q=qs and in H super-coordinate hs interpreted as coupling constants so that a discrete coupling constant evolution as function of extension of rationals follows. Also super-Dirac equation Dsqs=0 and field equations Ds,αΓα,s=0 for Kähler action guaranteeing hermiticity are satisfied.

  3. Could one interpret the time reversal operation taking creation- and annihilation operators to each other as time reflection permuting the points at the opposite boundaries of CD? The positive resp. negative energy parts of zero energy states would be created by creation resp. annihilation operators from respective vacuums assigned to the opposite boundaries of CD.

  4. Could one regard preferred extremal regarded as 4-surface in super imbedding space parameterized by the hermitian imbedding coordinates plus the coefficients of the monomials of quarks and antiquarks with vanishing quark number, whose time evolution follows from dimensionally reduced 6-D super-Kähler action? Could one assume similar interpretation for super spinors consisting of monomials with odd quark number and appearing in super-Dirac action?

  5. In WKB approximation the exponent of action defines wave function. In QFTs path integral is defined by an exponent of action and scattering operator can be formally defined as action exponential. Could the matrix elements for the exponent of the super counterpart of Kähler function plus super Dirac action between states at opposite boundaries of CD between positive and negative energy parts of zero energy states define S-matrix? Could the positive and negative energy parts of zero energy states be identified as many particles states formed from the monomials associated with imbedding space super-coordinates and super-spinors?

  6. Could the construction of S-matrix elements as matrix elements of super-action exponential reduce to classical theory? Super-field monomials in the interior of CD would be linear superpositions of super-field monomials at boundary of CD. Note that oscillator operator monomials rather than their coefficients would be the basic entities and the dynamics would reduce to that for oscillator operators as in QFTs. The analogs of propagators would relate the monomials to those at boundary ly to the monomials at the boundary of CD, and would be determined by classical field equations so that in this sense everything would be classical. Note however that the fixed point condition q=qs and super counterpart of modified Dirac equation are non-linear.

    Vertices would be defined by monomials appearing in super-coordinate and super-spinor field appearing in terms of those at boundary of CD. If two vertices at interior points x and y of CD are connected there is line leading from x to a point z at boundary of CD and back to y and one would have sum over points z in cognitive representation. This applies also to self energy corrections with x=y. At the possibly existing continuum limit integral would smoothen the delta function singularities and in presence of normal ordering at continuum would eliminate them.

    In the expressions for the elements of S-matrix annihilation operators appearing in the monomials would be connected to the passive boundary P of CD and creation operators to the active boundary. If no partonic 2-surfaces appear as topological vertices in the interior of CD, this would give trivial S-matrix!

    M8-H duality however predicts the existence of brane like entities as universal 6-D surfaces as solutions of equations determining space-time surfaces. Their M4 projection is t=rn hyperplane, where rn corresponds to a root of a real polynomial with algebraic coefficients giving rise to octonion polynomial, and is mapped to similar surface in H. 4-D space-time surfaces representing incoming and outgoing lines would meet along their ends at these partonic 2-surfaces.

    Partonic 2-surfaces at these hyper-surfaces would contain ordinary vertices as points in cognitive representation. Given vertex would have at most 4+4 incoming and outgoing lines assignable to the monomial defining the vertex. This picture resembles strongly the picture suggested by twistor Grassmannian approach. In particular the number of vertices is finite and their seems to be no superposition over different diagrams. In this proposal, the lines connecting vertices would correspond to 1-D singularities of the space-time surfaces as minimal surfaces in H. Also stringy singularities can be considered but also these should be discretized.

    By fixing the set of monomials possibly defining orthonormal state basis at both boundaries one would obtain given S-matrix element. S-matrix elements would be matrix elements of the super-action exponential between states formed by monomials of quark oscillator operators. Also entanglement between the monomials defining initial and finals states can be allowed. Note that this in principle allows also initial and final states not expressible using monomials but that monomials are natural building bricks as analogs of field operators in QFTs.

  7. The monomials associated with imbedding space coordinates are imbedding space vectors constructible from Dirac currents (left- or right-handed) with oscillator operators replacing the induced spinor field and its conjugate. The proposed rules for constructing S-matrix would give also scattering amplitudes with odd quark number at boundaries of CD. Could the super counterpart of the bosonic action (super Kähler function) be all that is needed to construct the S-matrix?

    In fact, classically Dirac action vanishes on mass shell: if this is true also for super-Dirac action then the addition of Dirac action would not be needed. The super-Taylor expansion of super- Kähler action gives rise to the analogs of perturbation theoretic interaction terms so that one has perturbation theory without perturbation theory as Wheeler might state it. The detailed study of the structure of the monomials appearing in the super-Kähler action shows that they have interpretation as currents assignable to gauge bosons and scalar and pseudo-scalar Higgs.

    Super Dirac action is however needed. Super-Dirac equation for q and Dα,sΓαs=0 allow to reduce ordinary divergences ∂αjα of fermionic currents appearing in super-Kähler action to commutators [Aα,sjα]. Therefore no information about q at nearby points is needed and one avoids lattice discretization: cognitive representation is enough.

  8. Topological vertices represent discontinuities of the space-time surface bringing strongly in mind the non-determinism of quantum measurement, and one can ask whether the 3-branes and associated partonic 2-surfaces. Could the state function reductions analogous to weak measurements correspond to these discontinuities? Ordinary state function reductions would change the arrow of time and the roles of active and passive boundaries of CD. In TGD inspired theory of consciousness these time values would correspond to "very special moments" in the life of self.

But can one calculate anything?

The path from precise formulation to concere calculations is long since TGD is much more ambitious approach than the usual models based on action and Feynman rules. One can ask whether the information needed to make calculations is in principle available in number theoretic approach based on cognitive representations.

  1. The condition that super-Dirac equation is satisfied would remove the need to have a lattice and cognitive representation would be enough. If the condition ∂αq=0 holds true, the situation simplifies even more but this condition is not essential. The condition that the points of the cognitive representation assignable to quark oscillator operators correspond to singularities of space-time surface at which several space-time sheets intersect, would make the identification of these points of cognitive representation easier. Note that the notion of singular point makes sense also at the continuum limit giving cognitive representation even in this case in terms of possibly transcendental roots of octonion analytic functions.

    If the singular points correspond to solution to 4 polynomial conditions on octonionic polynomials besides the 4 conditions giving rise to the space-time surfaces. The intersections for two branches representing two roots of polynomial equation for space-time surface indeed involve 4 additional polynomial conditions so that the points would have coordinates in an extension of rationals, which is however larger than for the roots t=rn. One could of course consider an additional condition requiring that the points belong to the extension defined by rn but this seems un-necessary.

    The octonionic coordinates used at M8-side are unique apart from a translation of real coordinate and value of the radial light-like coordinate t=rn corresponds to a root of the polynomial defining the octonionic polynomial as its algebraic continuation. At this plane the space-time surfaces corresponding to polynomials defining external particles as space-time surfaces would intersect at partonic 2-surfaces containing the shared singular points defined as intersections.

  2. The identification of cognitive representations goes beyond the recent knowhow in algebraic geometry. I have considered this problem in light of some recent number theoretic ideas. If the preferred extremals are images of octonionic polynomial surfaces and M8-H duality the situation improves, and one might hope of having explicit representation of the images surfaces in H-side as minimal surfaces defined by polynomials.

See the article Recent View about SUSY in TGD Universe or the chapter with the same title.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

Articles and other material related to TGD.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

The recent view about SUSY in TGD Universe

The progress in understanding of M8-H duality throws also light to the problem whether SUSY is realized in TGD and what SUSY breaking does mean. It is now rather clear that sparticles are predicted and SUSY remains exact but that p-adic thermodynamics causes thermal massivation: unlike Higgs mechanism, this massivation mechanism is universal and has nothing to do with dynamics. This is due to the fact that zero energy states are superpositions of states with different masses. The selection of p-adic prime characterizing the sparticle causes the mass splitting between members of super-multiplets although the mass formula is same for all of them.

The question how to realize super-field formalism at the level of H=M4× CP2 led to a dramatic progress in the identification of elementary particles and SUSY dynamics. The most surprising outcome was the possibility to interpret leptons and corresponding neutrinos as local 3-quark composites with quantum numbers of anti-proton and anti-neutron. Leptons belong to the same super-multiplet as quarks and are antiparticles of neutron and proton as far quantum numbers are consided. One implication is the understanding of matter-antimatter asymmetry. Also bosons can be interpreted as local composites of quark and anti-quark.

Hadrons and hadronic gluons would still correspond to the analog of monopole phase in QFTs. Homology charge would appear as space-time correlate for color at space-time level and explain color confinement. Also color octet variants of weak bosons, Higgs, and Higgs like particle and the predicted new pseudo-scalar are predicted. They could explain the successes of conserved vector current hypothesis (CVC) and partially conserved axial current hypothesis (PCAC).

One ends up with the precise understanding of quantum criticality and understand the relation between its descriptions at M8 level and H-level. Polynomials describing a hierarchy of dark matters describe also a hierarchy of criticalities and one can identify inclusion hierarchies as sub-hierarchies formed by functional composition of polynomials. The Wick contractions of quark-antiquark monomials appearing in the expansion of super-coordinate of H could define the analog of radiative corrections in discrete approach. M8-H duality and number theoretic vision require that the number of non-vanishing Wick contractions is finite. The number of contractions is indeed bounded by the finite number of points in cognitive representation and increases with the degree of the octonionic polynomial and gives rise to a discrete coupling constant evolution parameterized by the extensions of rationals.

Quark oscillator operators in cognitive representation correspond to quark field q. Only terms with quark number 1 appear in q and leptons emerge in Kähler action as local 3-quark composites. Internal consistency requires that q must be the super-spinor field satisfying super Dirac equation. This leads to a self-referential condition qs=q identifying q and its super-counterpart qs. The condition has interpretation in terms of a fixed point of iteration and expression of quantum criticality. The coefficients of various terms in q analogous to coupling constants can be fixed from this condition so that one obtains discrete number theoretical coupling constant evolution. The basic equations are quantum criticality condition q=qs, Dα,sΓαs=0 coming from Kähler action, and the super-Dirac equation Dsq=0.

One also ends up to the first completely concrete proposal for how to construct S-matrix directly from the solutions of super-Dirac equations and super-field equations for space-time super-surfaces. The idea inspired by WKB approximation is that the exponent of the super variant of Kähler function including also super-variant of Dirac action defines S-matrix elements as its matrix elements between the positive and negative energy parts of the zero energy states formed from the corresponding vacua at the two boundaries of CD annihilated by annihilation operators and resp. creation operators. The states would be created by the monomials appearing in the super-coordinates and super-spinor.

Super-Dirac action vanishes on-mass-shell. The proposed construction relying on ZEO allows however to get scattering amplitudes between all possible states using the exponential of super-Kähler action. Super-Dirac equation makes possible to express the derivatives of the quark oscillator operators (values of quark field at points of cognitive representation) so that one can use only the points of cognitive representation without introducing lattice discretization. Discrete coupling constant evolution follows from the fact that the contractions of oscillator operators occur at the boundary of CD and their number is limited by the finite number of points of cognitive representation.

See the article Recent View about SUSY in TGD Universe or the chapter with the same title.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

Articles and other material related to TGD.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

A visit to Baden-Baden

I participated a symposium held in Baden-Baden (31st International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics – InterSymp 2019: Symposium on Causal and Anticipative Systems in Living Science, Biophysics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity). The visit was pleasant: Baden-Baden is small town which has preserved its personal warm character.

I wrote a slightly extended version of the related article mentioning the recent experimental finding of Minev et al supporting zero energy ontology crucial for the approach. The following is the abstract of the article.

Topological Geometro-Dynamics (TGD) proposes a unification of fundamental interactions by identifying space-times as 4-surfaces in 8-D space H=M4× CP2, whose geometry codes for standard model symmetries and geometrizes known fields. Point-like particle is replaced with 3-surface (3-space). One ends up with the notions of many-sheeted space-time and magnetic body (MB) central in TGD inspired quantum biology. p-Adic and adelic physics follows from the extension of physics to describe also the correlates of cognition and imagination. Adelic physics predicts a hierarchy of Planck constants labelling phases of ordinary matter interpreted as dark matter: the predicted quantum coherence in arbitrarily long scales is crucial for quantum biology. Quantum TGD replaces standard ontology with "zero energy ontology" (ZEO) replacing quantum state as time=constant snapshot with zero energy state (ZES) identified as a superposition of deterministic classical time evolutions - kind of quantum program.

See the article TGD inspired theory of consciousness and living systems.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

Articles and other material related to TGD.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Could metaplectic group have some role in TGD framework?

Metaplectic group appears as a covering group of linear symplectic group Sp(2n,F) for any number field and its representations can be regarded as analogs of spinor representations of the rotation group. Since infinite-D symplectic group of δ M4+× CP2, where δ M4+ is light-cone boundary, appears as an excellent candidate for the isometries of the "world of classical worlds" in zero energy ontology (ZEO), one can ask whether and how the notion of metaplectic group could generalize to TGD framework.

The condition for the existence of metaplectic structure is same as of the spinor structure and not met in the case of CP2. One however expects that also the modified metaplectic structure exists if one couples spinors to an odd integer multiple of Kähler gauge potential. For triality 1 representation assignable to quarks one has n=1. The fact that the center of SU(3) is Z3 suggests that metaplectic group for CP2 is 3- or 6-fold covering of symplectic group instead of 2-fold covering.

Besides the ordinary representations of SL(2,C) also the possibly existing analogs of metaplectic representations of SL(2,C) = Sp(2,C) acting on wave functions in hyperbolic space H3 represented as a2=t2-r2 hyperbololoid of M4+ are cosmologically interesting since the many-sheeted space-time in number theoretic vision allows quantum coherence in even cosmological scales and there are indications for periodic redshift suggests tesselations of H3 analogous to lattices in E3 and defined by discrete subgroup of Sl(2,C). In this case one could require that only the subgroup SU(2) is represented projectively so that one would have an analogy with modular functions for discrete subgroup of SL(2,Z) would be represented in this manner.

See the chapter Recent View about K\"ahler Geometry and Spin Structure of WCW.

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Phase transitions generating dark phases and sensory perception

The TGD based model for biological self-organization relies on the hierarchy heff=nh0 of effective Planck constants labelling dark phases of ordinary particles residing at magnetic flux quanta. This model generalizes and suggests the replacement of non-equilibrium thermodynamics as basis of self-organization with its quantum variant based on dark matter hierarchy. The challenge is to formulate basic thermodynamical notions like work in terms TGD based quantum theory relying on zero energy ontology (ZEO).

The basic mechanism would be a phase transition creating dark matter phase as a Bose-Einstein condensate like state with particles having identical conserved quantum numbers. Conservation laws would force the ordinary matter to have opposite total charges. For instance, in the case of work one has momentum or angular momentum as a conserved charge. In the case of charge separation and high Tc superconductivity it would be em charge. Even color charges can correspond to conserved charges in TGD framework allowing scaled variants of strong interaction physics.

Basic biological functions involving the notion of work and also the formation of sensory percepts would rely on this mechanism. Also the ZEO based theory of consciousness predicting the change the arrow of time in ordinary state function reduction plays a central role and a model of nerve pulse is discussed as an example.

Sensory perception (time reversal of motor action could involve generation of coherent phases of dark matter carrying collective quantum numbers in 1-1 corresponds with the sensory qualia. This would represent a general charge separation process.

Consider first sensory capacitor model for color qualia.

  1. The notion of QCD color as analog of ordinary visual colors was originally introduced as a joke since the algebra of color summation resembles that for the summation of QCD colors in tensor product. In TGD however the dark hierarchy (heff) and p-adic length scale hierarchy predict that scaled variants of QCD type physics are possible for arbitrarily large length scales. In cellular scales scaled up QCDs are predicted. In the length scale range between cell membrane thickness and nucleus size there are as many as 4 Gaussian Mersennes, which is a number theoretical miracle. They could label copies of QCDs with size scale for the analogs of hadrons given by the corresponding p-adic length scales. QCD type colors could correspond to perceived colors.

  2. Gluons or quarks labelled by color charge characterizing particular color quale would flow between the plates of "capacitor" associated with the sensory receptor. The amount of particular color charge increases at the other plate giving rise to sensation of this particular color quale and its complement at the other plate - by color confinement also the same plate could also contain regions with complementary colors. This would explain why we see around a region of particular color a narrow boundary with complementary color.

  3. The model for sensory perception as sequences of analogs of weak measurements suggest that the flow of color charges could induce color qualia. The prediction emerging from the structure of SU(3) color algebra would be four pairs of basic color and complement color: 3 ordinary pairs and white-black pair. They could correspond to particular changes of color quantum numbers and color quantum numbers of gluons. Also color mixing could be understood.

  4. Photons are not coloured but gluons (and also quarks) are, and the latter and could be responsible for color sensation. How photon flux can generate a flow of color quantum numbers? The notion of induced gauge field -classical color gauge potentials would be projections of SU(3) Killing vectors - explains this.

    In TGD classical em field is sum of two terms induced Kähler form and neutral vectorial component of spinor curvature. Classical gluon field has components proportional to classical color Hamiltonian (function in CP2 which can be said to have quantum numbers of gluon) and induced Kähler form. In general case any classical em field is accompanied by a classical color field.

    Photons are accompanied by classical em fields and therefore also by classical gluon fields at the fundamental level: this correspondence disappears at QFT limit unable to describe biology and sensory experience. The flow of photons to retina would be accompanied by classical em and color fields and therefore a flow of gluons. Also quark flow between the plates of sensory capacitor could generate the color qualia.

  5. A simple model for the visual qualia is in terms of a phase transition transforming gluons of a scaled copy of QCD to ordinary gluons. Dark gluons would form a BE condensate and force a formation its shadow at the level of ordinary matter. This is a variant of sensory receptor as quantum capacitor. The plates of capacitor correspond to dark and ordinary phase and the analog of electric breakdown means formation of the dark phase. Cooper pairs of quarks with quantum numbers of gluon would be second option but gluons in TGD framework are actually this kind of pairs!!

See the article Quantum self-organization by heff changing phase transitions or the chapter General theory of qualia.

Zero energy ontology and quantum model for nerve pulse

In TGD based model of nerve pulse axonal membrane is generalized cylindrical Josephson junction defined by axonal membrane consisting of smaller Josephson junctions defined by membrane proteins.

  1. A sequence of mathematical penduli along axon in rotation in the same direction is the mechanical analog. Oscillation frequency Ω transforming to a rotation frequency above critical value is proportional to the resting potential V. When V is overcritical, the pendulum starts to rotate instead of oscillating. The system should be near quantum criticality for the transformation of rotation to oscillation or vice versa.

  2. During nerve pulse membrane potential and therefore also rotation frequency is reduced and changes sign and then returns back to the original value. The first guess is that at criticality there is a kick reducing the rotation frequency Ω and continuing to change its sign and then return it to original.

The basic condition is that resting state becomes critical at critical hyper-polarization. There are two options for the resting state.
  1. According to the original model resting state can be regarded as a soliton sequence associated with the phase difference over the membrane. More concretely, the mathematical penduli rotate in same direction with phase difference between determining the propagation velocity of solitons. The rotation frequency is slightly above that for oscillation. There is a preferred direction along axon. This conforms with the reduction and change of sign of potential and thus of Ω.

    Problem: Hypo- rather than hyper-polarization should cause the nerve pulse as a transformation of rotation to oscillation. Something goes wrong.

  2. Alternatively, the penduli almost rotate being near criticality for the rotation: the penduli almost reaches the vertical position at each oscillation as required by criticality. That hyper-polarization would cause the nerve pulse as propagating soliton conforms with this idea.

    Problem: Ω and thus V should increase rather than reduce and even change sign temporarily.

Neither option seems to work as such but the first option is more plausible as a starting point of an improved model.

The membrane potential changes sign suggesting quantum jump. Could zero energy ontology (ZEO) based view about quantum jump as "big" (ordinary) state function reduction (BSFR) help? Could nerve pulse correspond to BSFR?

  1. Could BSFR occur changing temporarily the arrow of time in ZEO and induce nerve pulse. Could opposite BSFR take place after this in millisecond scale and establish the original arrow of time. Using the language of TGD inspired theory of consciousness a conscious entity, sub-self or mental image, would die and reincarnate with an opposite arrow of time, live for the duration of nerve pulse and then die and reincarnate with the original arrow of time. Nerve pulse would be a propagation of a temporary neuron death along the axon and would occur as neuron becomes hyper-polarized.

  2. In the article about the recent findings of Minev et al related to quantum jump in atomic physics are discussed. ZEO predicting that the arrow of time is changed in BSFR. This would create the illusion that discontinuous quantum jumps correspond to a classical time evolution leading smoothly and deterministically to the final state.

    This because BSFR leads to a state with reversed arrow of time, which corresponds to a superposition of classical time evolutions leading from the final state to the geometric past and it this, which is observed.
    This would also explain why the removal of the irradiation inducing quantum jumps has no effect during the transition process and why a stimulation inducing opposite quantum jump can stop the process. Also the findings of Libet related to the active aspects of consciousness showing that neural activity seems to preceded volitional act can be understood in this framework without giving up the notion of free will.

    The first half of the nerve pulse would correspond to this apparent evolution to the time reversed final state with opposite membrane potential but actually being time reversed evolution from the final state. The second half of nerve pulse would correspond to opposite state function reduction establishing the original arrow of time. This model looks attractive but many details remain to be checked.

Why hyper-polarization should cause the temporary death of neuron or its subself?
  1. Metabolic energy feed is needed to preserve the polarization of neuron since membrane potential tends to get reduced by second law stating that all gradients are bound to decrease. There should be some maximal polarization possible to preserve using the existing metabolic energy resources.

  2. Does quantum jump to a state with opposite arrow of time happen as this limit is reached? Why? Could the metabolic energy feed stop causing the neuron to die to starvation? Why the death of neuron should happen so fast? Could the quantum criticality against the change of rotation to oscillation be the reason. When neuron cannot rotate anymore it would die immediately: the mental image "I am rotating" would die and reincarnate as its time reversal. Does the neuron feeded by metabolic energy become a provider metabolic energy during this period somewhat like dead organisms after their death. Can one conclude that this energy goes to some purpose inside neuron?

See the article Quantum self-organization by heff changing phase transitions or the chapter Quantum model for nerve pulse.

Quantum self-organization by heff changing phase transitions

The TGD based model for biological self-organization relies on the hierarchy heff=nh0 of effective Planck constants labelling dark phases of ordinary particles residing at magnetic flux quanta. This model generalizes and suggests the replacement of non-equilibrium thermodynamics as basis of self-organization with its quantum variant based on dark matter hierarchy. The challenge is to formulate basic thermodynamical notions like work in terms TGD based quantum theory.

The basic mechanism would be a phase transition creating dark matter phase as a Bose-Einstein condensate like state with particles having identical conserved quantum numbers. Conservation laws would force the ordinary matter to have opposite total charges. For instance, in the case of work one has momentum or angular momentum as a conserved charge. In the case of charge separation and high Tc superconductivity it would be em charge. Even color charges can correspond to conserved charges in TGD framework allowing scaled variants of strong interaction physics.

Basic biological functions involving the notion of work and also the formation of sensory percepts would rely on this mechanism. Also the ZEO based theory of consciousness predicting the change the arrow of time in ordinary state function reduction plays a central role and a model of nerve pulse is discussed as an example.

See the article Quantum self-organization by heff changing phase transitions or the chapter Quantum Theory of Self-Organization.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

Articles and other material related to TGD.