what is the universe made of? The short answer is that the universe is built of four substances: radiation, baryonic matter, dark matter and dark energy.

What are these substances?

1. Radiation: This consists of photons and neutrinos and makes up 10-3% of the total energy.

2. Baryonic matter: This is the ordinary, familiar material including all of the chemical elements and compounds that we find in planets, stars, gas clouds and plasmas. Baryonic matter only comprises about 4% of the universe's total entire energy.

Most stars end their lives as white dwarfs or neutron stars. When a very massive star collapses at the end of its life, however, not even the mutual repulsion between densely packed neutrons can support the core against its own weight. If the remaining mass of the star’s core is more than about three times that of the Sun (\(M_{\text{Sun}}\)), our theories predict that no known force can stop it from collapsing forever! Gravity simply overwhelms all other forces and crushes the core until it occupies an infinitely small volume. A star in which this occurs may become one of the strangest objects ever predicted by theory—a black hole.

The Higgs boson (a particle of the Higgs field) is a particle associated with the electroweak-symmetry breaking mechanism which is an inmportant aspect of quantum physics and is a vital component of the Standard Model of particle physics. It is believed that all fundamental particles in the known Universe that have mass — for example electrons, or the quarks that live inside protons and neutrons — acquire this mass as a result of interacting with an omnipresent field through Higgs bosons. Massless particles, such as photons, pass through the field without interacting with it.

Everything that we can touch and see and feel has substance. All this substance that makes up our Universe is courtesy of the familiar atom, which gives us all the matter around us. An atom is comprised of lightweight electrons orbiting and bound to a bulky nucleus of protons and neutrons, which themselves are made of quarks.

According to the Standard Model of elementary particle physics, to each particle exists an antiparticle that is supposed to behave exactly the same way. Thus anti-particles which make up the anti-matter would observe the same laws of physics in general, as the matter particles do. This phenomena is, however, difficult to prove, since it is almost impossible to perform measurements on antimatter: whenever an antiparticle meets is matter-counterpart, both particles annihilate, accompanied by the creation of energy.

A recent research in Quantum Optics has found a way to overcome this hurdle: an experiment was carried out by trapping an antiproton inside a helium atom. As due to a new cooling technique the helium atoms are almost at rest, high precision spectroscopy measurements are made possible. For the mass of the antiproton relative to the electron, the outcome of the research has achieved the unprecedented accuracy of 800 parts per trillion.

The quantum mechanical operator associated with the total energy of a quantum system (nucleus in this case) is called the Hamiltonian. In classical mechanics, the system energy can be expressed as the sum of the kinetic and potential energies. For quantum mechanics, the elements of this energy expression are transformed into the corresponding quantum mechanical operators. The Hamiltonian contains the operations associated with the kinetic and potential energies. We will deduce the Hamitonian for a nucleus in this post.

There is more complexity to the mass formula of the nucleus than just a simple linear dependence on the total number of nucleons which are protons and neutrons. Readily at first , there seems to be the kinds of energies mentioned below that should play the key role:

Each nucleus has a (positive) charge \(Ze\), and integer number times the elementary charge \(e\). This follows from the fact that atoms are neutral

Nuclei of identical charge come in different masses, all approximate multiples of the “nucleon mass”. (Nucleon is the generic term for a neutron or proton, which have almost the same mass, \(m_p= 938.272 \text{MeV}/c^2\), \(m_n= \text{MeV}/c^2\).) Masses can easily be determined by analysing nuclei in a mass spectrograph which can be used to determine the relation between the charge \(Z\) (the number of protons, we believe) vs. the mass.

Electrostatic repulsion and gravitational attraction between masses in the nucleus are two forces that act between nucleons (protons and neutrons). The magnitude of electrostatic repulsion between protons is much greater than the gravitational attraction between the nucleons. In fact, the gravitational attraction between nucleons is so small it can be disregarded in most calculations involving the forces between nucleons

Consider a non-relativistic charged particle in an electromagnetic field. As this post is to address the physics of electrons interacting with electromagnetic fields, the electric charge of the particle is taken to be \(-e\), where \(e = 1.602\times10^{-19}\,\mathrm{C}\) is the elementary charge. To describe particles with an arbitrary electric charge \(q\), simply perform the substitution \(e \rightarrow -q\) in the formulas you will subsequently encounter.

The task is to formulate the Hamiltonian governing the quantum dynamics of such a particle, subject to two simplifying assumptions: (i) the particle has charge and mass but is otherwise “featureless” (i.e., the spin angular momentum and magnetic dipole moment that real electrons possess are ignored), and (ii) the electromagnetic field is treated as a classical field, meaning that the electric and magnetic fields are definite quantities rather than operators.

In the quantum physics field , it has been common to use \(p^2/2m\)-type Hamiltonians, which are limited to describing non-relativistic particles. In 1928, Paul Dirac formulated a Hamiltonian that can describe electrons moving close to the speed of light, thus successfully combining quantum theory with special relativity. Another triumph of Dirac’s theory is that it accurately predicts the magnetic moment of the electron.

The process of quantizing a scalar boson field is achieved with the classical field being decomposed into normal modes, and each mode is quantized by assigning it an independent set of creation and annihilation operators. By comparing the oscillator energies in the classical and quantum regimes, we can derive the Hermitian operator corresponding to the classical field variable, expressed using the creation and annihilation operators. The same approach will be used with some minor adjustments, to quantize the electromagnetic field.

Quantum Physics has discovered that there are only four distinct basic forces in all of nature. This is a remarkably small number considering the myriad phenomena they explain. Particle physics is intimately tied to these four forces. Certain fundamental particles, called carrier particles, carry these forces, and all particles can be classified according to which of the four forces they feel. The table given below summarizes important characteristics of the four basic forces.

Consider a non-relativistic charged particle in an electromagnetic field. The main interest now is in the physics of electrons interacting with electromagnetic fields, so let us take the electric charge of the particle to be \(-e\), where \(e = 1.602\times10^{-19}\,\mathrm{C}\) is the elementary charge. To describe particles with an arbitrary electric charge \(q\), simply perform the substitution \(e \rightarrow -q\) in the formulas that will mentioned in this post.

It is important to formulate the Hamiltonian governing the quantum dynamics of such a particle, subject to two simplifying assumptions: (i) the particle has charge and mass but is otherwise “featureless” (i.e., the spin angular momentum and magnetic dipole moment that real electrons possess are ignored), and (ii) the electromagnetic field is treated as a classical field, meaning that the electric and magnetic fields are definite quantities rather than operators.

The understanding of several cosmological problems that has been obtained from the development of the Generation Model (GM) of particle physics is presented. The GM is presented as a viable simpler alternative to the Standard Model (SM). The GM considers the elementary particles of the SM to be composite particles and this substructure leads to new paradigms for both mass and gravity, which in turn lead to an understanding of several cosmological problems: the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe, dark matter and dark energy.

The GM provides a unified origin of mass and the composite nature of the leptons and quarks of the GM leads to a solution of the cosmological matter-antimatter asymmetry problem. The GM also provides a new universal quantum theory of gravity in terms of a residual interaction of a strong color-like interaction, analogous to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). This very weak residual interaction has two important properties: antiscreening and finite range, that provide an understanding of dark matter and dark energy, respectively, in the universe.

According to the standard model , all known particles are either fundamental point particles or are composed of fundamental point particles according to a remarkably small set of rules. Just as atoms are bound states of atomic nuclei and electrons, atomic nuclei are bound states of protons and neutrons. This post delves one step deeper in the heirarchy of the universe. In the particle physics world , it is considered that all hadrons are actually bound states of fundamental spin 1/2 particles called quarks. Whereas all other known charged particles have an electric charge equal to an integer multiple of \(\pm \mathrm{e}\) where e is the proton charge, quarks have electric charges equal to either \(\text { -e / } 3 \text { or }+2 e / 3\). Leptons themselves are considered to be fundamental, so the leptons and the quarks form the basic building blocks of all matter in the universe

In particle physics, it was found out (or realized) that hadrons are not elementary particles but are made of particles called quarks. (The name ‘quark’ was coined by the physicist Murray Gell-Mann, from a phrase in the James Joyce novel Finnegans Wake.) Initially, it was believed there were only three types of quarks, called up (u), down (d), and strange (s). However, this number soon grew to six—interestingly, the same as the number of leptons—to include charmed (c), bottom (b), and top (t).

All quarks are spin-half fermions \((s = 1/2)\), have a fractional charge \((1/3\) or \(2/3 e)\), and have baryon number \(B = 1/3\). Each quark has an antiquark with the same mass but opposite charge and baryon number.

Accelerators are devices that may repel charged particles such as protons and electrons near the speed of light. The charged particles are collided either on targets or towards other particles in the opposite directions. Accelerators utilize electromagnetic fields to accelerate the charged particles, and radio-frequency cavities increase the particle beams as magnet in accelerators focus the beams and curves to their trajectory.

There are significant properties of an accelerator according to the aim of usage, e.g., the energy of collisions and type of particles. Therefore, the number of accelerators in operation around the world exceed 30,000. It is obvious that the need of understanding the nature and determination of nature’s laws in the subatomic dimension have been provided by accelerators especially in particle physics, because the developments in particle accelerators and particle detectors ensure attractive opportunities for great scientific advances.

Gravity: Is it quantum?
In physics' long journey toward a theory of everything, the continuous quest for the graviton-the postulated fundamental particle conveying gravitational force-is an essential step.
Except for gravity, all known fundamental forces in the universe are known to obey the laws of quantum mechanics. Researchers would make a huge step toward a "theory of everything" that might completely describe the functioning of the cosmos from basic principles if they could integrate gravity into quantum mechanics. Finding the graviton, a long-proposed fundamental particle of gravity, is an essential first step in the effort to determine whether gravity is quantum. Physics researchers are now focusing on studies using minuscule superconductors, free-falling crystals, and the aftermath of the big bang in their quest to discover the graviton.

A proton's official radius is 0.88±0.01 femtometers (fm, or 10^-15m). Both hydrogen spectroscopy and electron scattering tests, in which an electron beam is fired at a proton and the way the electrons scatter is used to quantify the proton's size, were utilised by the researchers to arrive at that value.
However, recently when scientists attempted to further increase the accuracy of the proton radius value using a third experimental technique, they obtained a value of 0.842±0.001 fm, which was 7 deviations off from the official value. Instead of using atomic hydrogen, which has an electron orbiting the proton, these tests used muonic hydrogen, in which a negatively charged muon orbits the proton. A muon can more precisely estimate the proton size since it orbits a proton closer than an electron because it is 200 times heavier than an electron.

The LCDM (Lambda cold dark matter) model best describes our universe. That is an expanding cosmos containing dense clusters of cold dark matter and dark energy (Lambda) (CDM). Regular matter, which makes up planets, stars, and ourselves, is also strewn throughout the universe, although it only accounts for around 4% of it. The CDM (cold dark matter) model performs remarkably well because, while not knowing what dark matter and dark energy are, Currently scientists do know how they act. There is only one minor issue.
The Hubble Constant, which measures how quickly the universe is expanding, and the baryon density parameter, which specifies the scale at which galaxies cluster together, are just two of the factors that define the LCDM. These parameters have been measured by numerous different experiments, and the results slightly diverge. For instance, the Hubble Constant obtained from studies of far-off galaxies is larger than the value obtained from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). In the LCDM model, these differences are referred to as tensions. It is perhaps the biggest issue facing contemporary cosmology.

The general theory of relativity is a stunning revealation to the world. Ever since it was proposed, scientists all over the world have worked hard to prove, refine, and extend this most stunning theory of gravity and spacetime.
Numerous observations that have been performed up till now have confirmed the aspects of the general theory of relativity , including those of gravitational lensing, redshift, changes in planetary orbits, and more recently, gravitational waves and black hole observations.
Despite our progress in observing gravity's more obvious macro impacts, there is still a gap - nay, a chasm - in our comprehension of gravity in relation to another important discovery: quantum mechanics, the study of matter and energy at their tiniest scales.

Researchers have shown that individual atoms in a thin crystalline slab can be resolved and individually controlled using light of a precisely adjusted color. This will enable the exchange of quantum information between them in order to create extended quantum networks. The work done in this research has been featured on the cover of Science Advances.

The realization of global quantum networks, in which remote carriers of quantum information (called “qubits”) are connected by light in optical fibers, is among the most intensely pursued research goals in quantum technology. To implement such a network, one requires efficient interactions between the qubits and individual particles of light. These can be realized in a similar way as one would foster interactions between people: The idea is to confine them to a small region of space – the smaller, the better – and to force them to stay long – the longer, the better.

Recently developed short-pulsed laser sources garner high dose-rate beams such as energetic ions and electrons, x rays, and gamma rays. The biological effects of laser-generated ion beams observed in recent studies are different from those triggered by radiation generated using classical accelerators or sources, and this difference can be used to develop new strategies for cancer radiotherapy. High-power lasers can now deliver particles in doses of up to several Gy within nanoseconds. The fast interaction of laser-generated particles with cells alters cell viability via distinct molecular pathways compared to traditional, prolonged radiation exposure. The emerging consensus of recent literature is that the differences are due to the timescales on which reactive molecules are generated and persist, in various forms.

The first quantum coherent and magnetic field-sensitive superconducting component has been created from graphene by scientists. This event paves way for creating intriguing opportunities in the field of superconducting technologies .

Scientists produced two-dimensional crystals with just one layer of carbon atoms several decades ago. This substance, now known as graphene, has had a long and successful career of usage. Today, graphene is utilised to reinforce things like tennis rackets, vehicle tyres, and aeroplane wings because of its extraordinary strength. However, it is also a fascinating topic for basic research because physicists are constantly finding new, astounding phenomena that haven't been seen in other materials.

By using ultrashort laser pulses to cause the atoms of molecules in a solution to vibrate, scientists have developed a precise understanding of the dynamics of energy transfer that occur during the process.

Light strikes molecules, is absorbed, and then reemitted. The level of detail in investigations of such light-matter interactions has continually increased because to developments in ultrafast laser technology. Even more in-depth information is now available through FRS, a technique for laser spectroscopy in which the electric field of pulses that repeat millions of times per second is captured with time resolution after passing through the sample: For the first time in theory and experiment, scientists have shown how molecules gradually absorb the energy of the ultrashort light pulse in each individual optical cycle, then release it again over a longer period of time, converting it into spectroscopically significant light. The research clarifies the fundamental mechanics governing this energy transfer. Additionally, it creates and validates a thorough quantum chemistry model that will be utilised later on to quantitatively anticipate even the slightest departures from linear behaviour.

Physicists in the field of quantum optics have successfully and precisely entangled more than a dozen photons. As a result, they are laying the groundwork for a novel class of quantum computer.

A higher quantity of specifically prepared, or, to use the technical word, entangled, basic building blocks are required to perform computing operations on a quantum computer. Now, physicists have successfully accomplished this feat using photons released by a single atom for the first time. The researchers created up to 14 entangled photons in an optical resonator using a unique technique, which can be produced into particular quantum physical states with great precision and efficiency. The novel approach might aid in the future safe data transfer of quantum computers, which are strong,powerful,more efficient computing systems compared to their classical counterparts.

The first quasiparticle-based Bose-Einstein condensate, or the enigmatic "fifth state" of matter, has been produced by physicists. Although these things aren't considered elementary particles, they can still exhibit characteristics of elementary particles like charge and spin. It has recently been discovered that they can experience Bose-Einstein condensation in the same way as actual particles. This was previously unknown. The discovery is expected to have a substantial effect on the advancement of quantum technology, such as quantum computing. The procedure for making the substance, accomplished at temperatures only a hair's breadth from absolute zero, was described in a report that was published in Nature Communications. Bose-Einstein condensates, together with solids, liquids, gases, and plasmas, are frequently referred to as the fifth state of matter. Bose-Einstein condensates, or BECs, were theoretically predicted in the early 20th century but weren't actually made in a lab until 1995. They are also maybe the most peculiar kind of matter, and science still doesn't fully understand them.

➤ Physicists Investigate Unusual States Of Matter Using Quantum Simulation Technologies

A researcher (Iadecola) at Iowa State University patiently explained digital quantum simulation, Floquet systems, and symmetry-protected topological phases as he worked through the title of the most recent research publication that contains his theoretical and analytical work. His explanations of nonequilibrium systems, time crystals, 2T periodicity, and the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics followed. Iadecola's area of quantum condensed matter physics, which examines how collections of atoms and subatomic particles give rise to states of matter, can be paradoxical and necessitate explanations at nearly every step. The bottom line is that scientists are learning more and more about exotic matter, "an uncharted universe where matter can adopt unusual properties," as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences put it while awarding the 2016 physics prize to David Thouless, Duncan Haldane, and Michael Kosterlitz.

Researchers Employ Quantum Computers To Model Quantum Materials

Scientists reach a significant milestone in improving the efficiency of quantum computing.
By enabling computations that were previously thought to be impossible, quantum computers have the potential to change science. But there is still much work to be done and a lot of difficult tests to pass before quantum computers are a commonplace reality.
One test involves simulating the characteristics of materials for upcoming quantum technologies using quantum computers.
Researchers at the University of Chicago and the Argonne National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have carried out quantum simulations of spin defects, which are particular imperfections in materials that could provide a viable foundation for new quantum technologies. By adjusting the noise generated by the quantum hardware, the study increased the precision of calculations performed on quantum computers.

Both consciousness and quantum phenomenon are subjective and indeterministic. In this post, we propose consciousness is a quantum phenomenon. A quantum theory of consciousness (QTOC) is presented based on a new interpretation of quantum physics. We show that this QTOC can address the mind and body problem, the hard problem of consciousness.

It also provides a physics foundation and mathematical formulation to study consciousness and neural network. We demonstrate how to apply it to develop and extend various models of consciousness. We show the predictions from this theory about the existence of a universal quantum vibrational field and the large-scale, nearly instantaneous synchrony of brainwaves among different parts of brain, body, people, and objects.

The correlation between Schumann Resonances and some brainwaves is explained. Recent progress in quantum information theory, especially regarding quantum entanglement and quantum error correction code, is applied to study memory and shed new light in neuroscience

According to a novel theory, the cosmos is conscious and self-repeats in "endless iterations". According to a report from the Quantum Gravity Research Institute, there may be a panconsciousness at work. Insight from quantum mechanics and a non-materialistic viewpoint are combined in this study.

The fact that this new theory expressly embraces "panconsciousness" and non-materialism is undoubtedly its most important component.
It can therefore be compared to more recent theories of consciousness that explicitly embrace panpsychism.
Surprisingly, non-materialist theories of consciousness are becoming more accepted in the scientific community. Is that because materialist theories of consciousness don't offer many new insights and lead to ludicrous conclusions, or is there another explanation? At this time, it would be difficult to say.
What if there are no sophisticated beings either and everything in "reality" is a self-simulation that arises from pure thought? This is the idea put out with a new hypothesis by researchers.

Using a notion created to demonstrate the presence of quantum gravity and modifying it to investigate the functioning of the human brain, scientists now believe that our brains may be capable of using quantum computation. The discovery could provide insight into consciousness, whose functioning is still not well understood by science. Another reason why humans still outperform supercomputers in unpredictable situations, decision-making, or learning new things may be due to quantum brain processes.

Researchers believe that human brains could use quantum computation after repurposing an idea created to demonstrate the existence of quantum gravity to investigate the human brain and its functions.

The performance of short-term memory and conscious awareness were also connected with the brain processes that were tested in the experiment. This shows that cognitive and conscious brain activities are also influenced by quantum processes.

A new generation of computers might be built on a type of sentient material that learns by physically altering itself, much like the human brain does. In their pursuit of this alleged "quantum brain," Radboud researchers have made a significant advancement. They have shown that they can organise and connect a network of single atoms, as well as imitate the independent actions of neurons and synapses in the brain. In Nature Nanotechnology, they publish a report on their discovery.

A growing number of data centres are required to meet the rising demand for computing power on a worldwide scale, each of which has an escalating energy footprint. According to the researchers , it is obvious that there is a need to develop new methods to store and analyse data in an energy-efficient manner.

Until recently, it was thought that the many organs and components within a cell float in the cytoplasm. Scientists believed that waves were used to transmit messages between cells. This paradigm is rapidly altering, though, research over the years is invaluable in that it identified a cell-wide web, a network of communication made of guide wires that transmits messages over nanoscale distances.

According to researchers, this indicates that each cell contains a circuit board, however it is not set in place like a computer board. Instead, they undergo rewiring to alter how the cells behave. According to them, there is a vast network of guide wires that direct charged molecules that convey information between various organs and other cytoplasmic structures. These motions at the nanoscale have significant effects. This is how commands to flex or relax muscles are transmitted, for instance. These signals eventually make it to the nucleus, which houses the genetic material that controls which genes are expressed. The entire behaviour of the cell is altered as a result.

Researchers in the field of Quantum Biology have figured out how algae that can tolerate very little light can turn on and off a peculiar quantum process that takes place during photosynthesis. It is not known how this quantum phenomenon, known as coherence, affects algae, although it is theorised that it might increase how effectively they use solar energy.

Understanding its function in a living thing could result in new technological developments like improved organic solar cells and quantum-based electronics.

The research has been released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
It is a component of a developing area called quantum biology, where there is mounting evidence that quantum phenomena exist outside of the lab and may even explain how birds may use the earth's magnetic field for navigation.

Quantum Biology researchers have developed a synthetic substance that resembles the intricate quantum dynamics seen in photosynthesis and could open up entirely new paths for developing solar energy systems. The researchers write in the Science Express that it is not only possible but also simpler than anyone anticipated to incorporate quantum effects into artificial light-harvesting systems.

Small compounds that support persistent quantum coherences have been engineered by the researchers.
Coherences are quantum superpositions' macroscopically visible activity. Superpositions, when a single quantum particle, such as an electron, occupies more than one state concurrently, are a fundamental idea in quantum mechanics that are illustrated by the famous Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment.