14 DAY TRIAL // According to mathematicians, discovering new dimensions other than the three we already know may be possible through in-depth studies of neutron stars and black holes. At the same time, this type of study would also reveal whether string theory stands to scientific scrutiny or not.
String theory is a unifying theory, which means that it seeks to reconcile data on all known forces in the Universe. However, doing so requires the existence of multiple dimensions, which makes its equations tremendously complex.
If astrophysicists indeed manage to discover extra dimensions using black holes and a special type of neutron stars called a pulsar, then theoretical physicists could get to work on establishing once and for well whether string theory works or not.
Oddly enough, astronomers propose that the Universe had many more dimensions than the ones we're accustomed to today moments after the Big Bang. But these were unstable, which is why they collapsed on each other until they were finally able to stabilize themselves in these remaining ones.
These are some of the reasons why testing string theory is so difficult. Experts have been at it for years, but thus far they've only been able to obtain moderate results. In a new study, a research group proposes that extra dimensions could be seen in a black hole-pulsar binary system.
A pulsar is a special type of neutron star. It produces intense radiation emission jets from its poles, which resemble the beams of a lighthouse when viewed from Earth. Pulsars, like many other neutron stars, can spin incredibly fast, giving the impression of a beacon in space.
“The Uuniverse contains ‘experimental’ setups we cannot produce on Earth,” explains Virginia Institute of Technology expert john Simonetti, who was the leader of the new research. He says that a binary system like his team proposes would reveal many astronomical phenomena.
For example, Stephen Hawking proposes that black holes lose mass over time. These particles (Hawking radiation) escape at very slow speeds, and are therefore very hard to detect today. But the gravitational interactions with a neutron star might produce additional dimensions.
If that is the case, then the particles would have more ways to escape the black hole, decreasing its mass faster. In turn, this would weaken the object's gravitational pull, which would cause the neutron star to move farther and farther away each year.
Given the large masses these objects have, and the tremendous gravitational pull they exert on each other, the phenomenon might take place at sufficiently-high speeds to allow our telescopes to see the motion. Such a study would demonstrate the existence of multiple dimensions, Daily Galaxy reports.