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open_problems [2017/10/27 11:01]
jakobadmin ↷ Page moved from open_problems to bsm:open_problems
open_problems [2018/05/07 06:56]
jakobadmin
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 +{{indexmenu_n>​10}}
 +
 +~~NOTOC~~
 + 
 +====== Open Problems ======
 +
 +<WRAP group>
 +<WRAP half column> ​
 +Our present understanding of nature is far from complete.
 +
 +Real problems are things related to **unexplained observed phenomena**,​ like dark matter or dark energy.
 +
 +In addition, there are things that we can describe but do not understand. These are not really problems but rather **puzzles**. Examples are the [[open_problems:​flavour_puzzle|still not understood masses and mixing angles]] of the elementary particles or also the [[open_problems:​hierarchy_puzzle|hierarchy puzzle]] and the question why strong interactions [[open_problems:​strong_cp_puzzle|do not violate]] [[advanced_notions:​cp_symmetry|CP symmetry]]. ​
 +
 +
 +</​WRAP>​
 +<WRAP half column><​nspages open_problems -h1 -textPages=""></​WRAP>​
 +</​WRAP>​
 +
 +----
 +
 +**The 5 Great Problems**
 +
 +  - __The problem of quantum gravity.__ This is the problem of combining general relativity and quantum theory into one theory. Such a theory would be able to describe all known interactions of nature. ​
 +  - __The problem of quantum theories.__ This is the problem of understanding quantum such that it makes sense and solve its fundamental problems. ​
 +  -  __The unification of the particles and forces.__ Still no theory exists that unifies all known particles and interactions into a single fundamental entity. ​
 +  -  __Explain the constants of nature.__ The standard model of particle physics has 20+ free parameters that need to be inferred from experiments. It is an open problem to understand how these values are "​chosen"​ by nature.
 +  - __Explain dark matter and dark energy.__ If they really exists, as suggested by experiments,​ we need to understand what they consists of. In addition, the constants of the standard model of cosmology need the be explained.  ​
 +
 +For more information,​ see the chapter "The Five Great Problems in Theoretical Physics"​ in the book "Time Reborn"​ by Lee Smolin.
 +
 +===== Lists of Open Problems =====
 +
 +
 +  * [[https://​arxiv.org/​abs/​1804.08730|Life,​ the universe, and everything - 42 fundamental questions]] by Roland E. Allen, Suzy Lidström
 +  * http://​math.ucr.edu/​home/​baez/​physics/​General/​open_questions.html
 +  * https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​List_of_unsolved_problems_in_physics
 +  * Chiral Fermions, see https://​arxiv.org/​pdf/​hep-th/​0102028.pdf
 +
 +----
 +
 +===== Quotes =====
 + 
 +
 +<​blockquote>​The laws of physics seem to be composed out of five
 +fundamental ingredients:​
 +
 +  * 1 Identical particles.
 +  * 2 Gauge interactions.
 +  * 3 Fermi statistics.
 +  * 4 Chiral fermions.
 +  * 5 Gravity.
 +
 +The question is whether one can find a “deeper structure”
 +that gives rise to all five of these phenomena. In
 +addition to being consistent with our current understanding
 +of the universe, such a structure would be quite
 +appealing from a theoretical point of view: it would
 +unify and explain the origin of these seemingly mysterious
 +and disconnected phenomena.
 +The U(/​1)xSU(2)xSU(3) Standard Model fails to
 +provide such a complete story for even the first four
 +phenomena. Although it describes identical particles,
 +gauge interactions,​ Fermi statistics, and chiral fermions
 +in a single theory, each of these components are introduced
 +independently and by hand. For example, field
 +theory is introduced to explain identical particles, vector
 +gauge fields are introduced to describe gauge interactions
 +Yang and Mills, 1954, and anticommuting fields
 +are introduced to explain Fermi statistics. One
 +wonders—where do these mysterious gauge symmetries
 +and anticommuting fields come from? Why does nature
 +choose such peculiar things as fermions and gauge
 +bosons to describe itself? ​
 +
 +<​cite>​Colloquium:​ Photons and electrons as emergent phenomena Michael Levin and Xiao-Gang Wen https://​journals.aps.org/​rmp/​pdf/​10.1103/​RevModPhys.77.871</​cite></​blockquote>​
 +
 +----
  
open_problems.txt · Last modified: 2019/02/08 09:24 by 129.13.36.189