3.5.7  Unification Theories

Maxwell’s equations established the first integration of magnetic and electric fields, which also included the optical theory. Electromagnetism was also integrated with Quantum Mechanics, to form the Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), for which Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger (1918-1994), and Sin-itiro Tomonaga (1906-1979) were warded the Nobel Prize in 1965. In 1979, Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, and Stephen Weinberg were also given the Nobel Prize for their “Electroweak Theory” that unified the electromagnetic and weak nuclear interactions.

Many other attempts have been made to form a quantum theory of the strong nuclear force, called Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) which comprises the Standard Model model of fundamental interactions, described in 5.18.

However, although promising progress have also been made to integrate QCD and electroweak theory, into a single “Grand Unified Theory” (GUT), this was not yet achieved, because the novel particles predicted by GUT models are expected to have masses just a few orders of magnitude below the Planck scale, which is well beyond the reach of any foreseen particle collision experiments. There is the possibility of a grand unification epoch in the early Universe in which the fundamental forces are not yet distinct at that extremely high energy density.

The Grand Unified Theory is the unification of the three fundamental non-gravitational forces: electromagnetism, the weak nuclear interaction, and the strong nuclear interaction, into a single quantum field interaction characterized by one larger gauge symmetry, with several force carriers but one unified coupling constant.

Unifying gravity with these three interactions would provide the Theory of Everything (TOE), which explains all the four fundamental interactions in terms of one unified Quantum Field Theory. Einstein spent most of the latter part of his life trying to create a quantum form of the general theory of relativity. Currently, the two serious approaches in this regard are Strings Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity, described in sections 7 and 8. The first tries to develop an effective Quantum Field Theory of gravity at low energies by postulating strings instead of point particles, while the latter uses spin networks to obtain granular space that evolves with time.

The essence of the problem is that most of these theories are trying to implement some kind of quantization in continuous space-time background, which makes any prospective theory of gravity non-re-normalizable, thus impossible to test because it cannot make any meaningful predictions. Therefore, I believe that any successful Theory of Everything must not rely on either the continuum or discretuum structure of space-time. Rather, these two contrasting views must be the product of such theory, and they must become complementary on the microscopic and macroscopic scales. The only contestant that may fulfill this criterion is “Oneness”, because on the multiplicity level things are either discrete or continuous, there is no other way. However, we need first to explain how the physical multiplicity can proceed from this metaphysical oneness, and then exhibit various discrete and continuous impressions. The key to resolve this dilemma is in understanding the “inner levels of time” in which “space” and “matter” are perpetually being generated and layered into the three spatial dimensions, which then evolve throughout the “outer level of time” that we encounter. We will discuss these issues at length in chapters V and VI.