A 40-year-old puzzle of superstring theory solved by supercomputer

[Gordon Frohm]

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A group of three researchers from KEK, Shizuoka University and Osaka University has for the first time revealed the way our universe was born with 3 spatial dimensions from 10-dimensional superstring theory in which spacetime has 9 spatial directions and 1 temporal direction. This result was obtained by numerical simulation on a supercomputer.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]According to Big Bang cosmology, the universe originated in an explosion from an invisibly tiny point. This theory is strongly supported by observation of the cosmic microwave background and the relative abundance of elements. However, a situation in which the whole universe is a tiny point exceeds the reach of Einstein's general theory of relativity, and for that reason it has not been possible to clarify how the universe actually originated.
In superstring theory, which is considered to be the "theory of everything", all the elementary particles are represented as various oscillation modes of very tiny strings. Among those oscillation modes, there is one that corresponds to a particle that mediates gravity, and thus the general theory of relativity can be naturally extended to the scale of elementary particles. Therefore, it is expected that superstring theory allows the investigation of the birth of the universe. However, actual calculation has been intractable because the interaction between strings is strong, so all investigation thus far has been restricted to discussing various models or scenarios.
Superstring theory predicts a space with 9 dimensions, which poses the big puzzle of how this can be consistent with the 3-dimensional space that we live in.
A group of 3 researchers, Jun Nishimura (associate professor at KEK), Asato Tsuchiya (associate professor at Shizuoka University) and Sang-Woo Kim (project researcher at Osaka University) has succeeded in simulating the birth of the universe, using a supercomputer for calculations based on superstring theory. This showed that the universe had 9 spatial dimensions at the beginning, but only 3 of these underwent expansion at some point in time.
This work will be published soon in Physical Review Letters.
In this study, the team established a method for calculating large matrices (in the IKKT matrix model), which represent the interactions of strings, and calculated how the 9-dimensional space changes with time. In the figure, the spatial extents in 9 directions are plotted against time.
If one goes far enough back in time, space is indeed extended in 9 directions, but then at some point only 3 of those directions start to expand rapidly. This result demonstrates, for the first time, that the 3-dimensional space that we are living in indeed emerges from the 9-dimensional space that superstring theory predicts.
This calculation was carried out on the supercomputer Hitachi SR16000 (theoretical performance: 90.3 TFLOPS) at the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics of Kyoto University.
It is almost 40 years since superstring theory was proposed as the theory of everything, extending the general theory of relativity to the scale of elementary particles. However, its validity and its usefulness remained unclear due to the difficulty of performing actual calculations. The newly obtained solution to the space-time dimensionality puzzle strongly supports the validity of the theory.
Furthermore, the establishment of a new method to analyze superstring theory using computers opens up the possibility of applying this theory to various problems. For instance, it should now be possible to provide a theoretical understanding of the inflation that is believed to have taken place in the early universe, and also the accelerating expansion of the universe, whose discovery earned the Nobel Prize in Physics this year. It is expected that superstring theory will develop further and play an important role in solving such puzzles in particle physics as the existence of the dark matter that is suggested by cosmological observations, and the Higgs particle, which is expected to be discovered by LHC experiments.
Provided by KEK[/QUOTE]
Source: [URL]http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-year-old-puzzle-superstring-theory-supercomputer.html[/URL]
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The gist basically being that this "[...] newly obtained solution to the space-time dimensionality puzzle strongly supports the validity of the [String] theory."

Meaning that [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMSmJCKaaC0"]Sheldon and Leonard of The Big Bang Theory are probably right in supporting String Theory over Loop Quantum Gravity[/URL].

[Zenreon]

So they inputed string theory and the computer outputted "Yes"...

[Zeke129]

The Controllers of the universe will not be pleased that we have made it this far

Expect even more challenging puzzles in the future

[Whomobile]

I have no idea what this is about, goes way over my head. Our third dimensional world being born from a ten dimensional world? I don't even...

[editline]24th December 2011[/editline]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;33874033]So they inputed string theory and the computer outputted "Yes"...[/QUOTE]

42

[kaze4159]

[quote]3 spatial dimensions from 10-dimensional superstring theory in which spacetime has 9 spatial directions and 1 temporal direction.[/quote]
:psyduck:

[ripple3000]

I am stupid what a does this mean in simple people words?

[Jeff the Hobo]

[QUOTE=ripple3000;33874050]I am stupid what a does this mean in simple people words?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;33874033]So they inputed string theory and the computer outputted "Yes"...[/QUOTE]

[ripple3000]

oh okay, string theory = yes, now I understand.

[Glitchvid]

While you can run as many damned calculation as you want, it does not deter that there are still things we don't understand about string, meaning that yes, your little equations may make sense in this form, but throw in a new theory and BAM this "yes" turns to a "no".
E.G: If we (hypothetically) ran simulations for the first theories of gravity, we would get a "yes" but that because we didn't add electro-magnetism, or even terminal velocity.

[Holy-Smokes]

Calm down guys, we still dont know the exact truth, and never will.
A computer simulation might proove consistency and logic in ones concepts and ideas, but not in actual reality. We will never know the truth about everything. What we perceive now is our reality, we can trust it as much as we want, it only prooves what we see right now, but not what we see the next moment.

I am so facinated by science.

[Mattk50]

[QUOTE=Holy-Smokes;33874293]Calm down guys, we still dont know the exact truth, and never will.
A computer simulation might proove consistency and logic in ones concepts and ideas, but not in actual reality. We will never know the truth about everything. What we perceive now is our reality, we can trust it as much as we want, it only prooves what we see right now, but not what we see the next moment.

I am so facinated by science.[/QUOTE]

While yes, this is all true and a very awesome part of science, its not something to "Calm down" over. The fact that we can make this educated guess at the true nature of reality is impressive in itself, and something to be celebrated. Better than celebrating herpderpjesus or a new video game release anyway. Whatever you kids do these days :v:.

[redhaven]

Computer says no.

[Conely]

[QUOTE=redhaven;33875268]Computer says no.[/QUOTE]

Uh, no, it said "yes".

Also Little Britain sucks.

[pr00ch]

fuck late-snip

[Lewdis]

[QUOTE=redhaven;33875268]Computer says no.[/QUOTE]

[video=youtube;uYhtEBfLMlo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYhtEBfLMlo[/video]

[Eudoxia]

[QUOTE]our universe was born with 3 spatial dimensions from 10-dimensional superstring theory in which spacetime has 9 spatial directions and 1 temporal direction. [/QUOTE]

Now it all makes sense!

[Kung Fu Jew]

YAY FOR SCIENCE

[editline]24th December 2011[/editline]

MATH

[[CWG]RustySpann]

Now, I'm an idiot.

Can someone explain what's in the other 6 dimensions?

[Contag]

[QUOTE='[CWG]RustySpannerz;33876162']Now, I'm an idiot.

Can someone explain what's in the other 6 dimensions?[/QUOTE]

nothing much
but they affect other forces which is why formulating a model which reconciles interaction at very small scales and very large scale is a pain

take my understanding with salt grains though

[editline]25th December 2011[/editline]

universe you are a mysterious mistress

[Zarjk]

why don't we ask a supercomputer the question to life?

because we know the answer.

[Meatpuppet]

Only 90 teraflops? We've have supercomputers much faster than that for a long time. Also, title is sensationalist; it didn't 'solve' it, it just made an image of what we think the early universe looked like

[t0cketty]

[QUOTE=Zarjk;33876295]why don't we ask a supercomputer the question to life?

because we know the answer.[/QUOTE]

racecar

[Contag]

[QUOTE=Zarjk;33876295]why don't we ask a supercomputer the question to life?

because we know the answer.[/QUOTE]

Stupid questions get stupid answers.

[DainBramageStud]

So is it falsifiable yet?

[AceOfDivine]

[QUOTE=Contag;33876556]Stupid questions get stupid answers.[/QUOTE]Depends on who you ask, sometimes you don't get an answer.

[Contag]

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;33876801]So is it falsifiable yet?[/QUOTE]

I think it's been falsifiable for a while.
Someone call our resident physicist aVon for clarification.

[Murkat]

[QUOTE=Zeke129;33874034]The Controllers of the universe will not be pleased that we have made it this far

Expect even more challenging puzzles in the future[/QUOTE]

Universal Puzzles DLC

[Gordon Frohm]

[QUOTE=Meatpuppet;33876553]Also, title is sensationalist; it didn't 'solve' it, it just made an image of what we think the early universe looked like[/QUOTE]

Of course it is, hence why I put it in the [URL="http://www.facepunch.com/forums/396"]Sensationalist Headlines[/URL] forum.

[Prospect_2]

If you have no idea what is going on watch this

[video=youtube;uY_ZgAvXsuw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY_ZgAvXsuw[/video]

[Cuon Alpinus]

2011 best year for science.