[HN Gopher] Fractons, the 'weirdest' matter, could yield quantum...
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       Fractons, the 'weirdest' matter, could yield quantum clues
        
       Author : jnord
       Score  : 31 points
       Date   : 2021-07-27 08:14 UTC (14 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.quantamagazine.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.quantamagazine.org)
        
       | peter_d_sherman wrote:
       | >"It means fractons' microscopic structure influences their
       | behavior over long distances."
       | 
       | PDS: Sounds to me like yet another Bell's Theorem, "Spooky action
       | at a distance", possible FTL candidate...
       | 
       | [...]
       | 
       | >"Using a computer algorithm, he turned up a new theoretical
       | phase that came to be called the Haah code."
       | 
       | (add'l info on Haah Code: https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.02101)
       | 
       | [...]
       | 
       | >"Certain crystals with immovable defects have been shown to be
       | mathematically similar to fractons."
       | 
       | Related:
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fracton_(subdimensional_partic...
        
       | tabtab wrote:
       | > _colleagues are developing novel quantum field theories that
       | try to encompass the weirdness of fractons by allowing some
       | discrete behavior on top of a bedrock of continuous space-time._
       | 
       | Try using AI and genetic algorithms to "breed" a model or
       | equation that best matches observed behaviors.
        
       | taliesinb wrote:
       | Funny this showing up here -- fractons are one of the first
       | things I came across in pursuing my strange belief that
       | fundamental particles are manifestations of defects in some
       | "space-time crystal". But where Seiberg says "Quantum field
       | theory is a very delicate structure, so we would like to change
       | the rules as little as possible," -- I have the exact opposite
       | view: we'll probably need to tear down the vast majority of
       | mathematical structures that are the foundation of QFT and QM,
       | and build from scratch on a discrete combinatorial foundation.
       | Luckily doing that is turning out to be a lot of fun and involve
       | some interesting new mathematical ideas. But more often old
       | mathematical ideas, like curvature, holonomy, and gauge symmetry,
       | but resurrected in new forms.
        
         | archibaldJ wrote:
         | Intriguing. A more discrete combinatorial approach could imply
         | a corresponding proximity to programming language theories and
         | type theories. This may be a bit far-fetch, but is there any
         | chance introduction of parser/intrepreter-like constructs can
         | be of useful significance?
        
       | jakeva wrote:
       | > The odd but customary way certain physicists understand this
       | movement is that the electron moves because space is filled with
       | electron-positron pairs momentarily popping into and out of
       | existence. One such pair appears so that the positron (the
       | electron's oppositely charged antiparticle) is on top of the
       | original electron, and they annihilate. This leaves behind the
       | electron from the pair, displaced from the original electron. As
       | there's no way of distinguishing between the two electrons, all
       | we perceive is a single electron moving.
       | 
       | I've never heard this idea before. I haven't finished the article
       | yet but this is fascinating to me.
        
         | tabtab wrote:
         | That sounds more like a computer simulation: you don't directly
         | "move" an object, you copy it first and then delete the
         | original.
         | 
         | "God" is the Matrix Server Admin?
        
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       (page generated 2021-07-27 23:00 UTC)