6. PREDICTIONS OF VFT

The main predictions of VFT are given as follows:

1) The concept of No Space (absence of space) before big bang is wrong. Space was present before the big bang or to say space was present before the beginning of time.

2) Energy was existent in the universe before the big bang or before the beginning of time. It was potential energy and existed mainly in the form of vacuum fields.

3) There were two types of space present in the pre-big bang universe. They were:

 a) space without vacuum energy density, also called no-energy space and               

 b) space with vacuum energy density, also called the normal space.

Today also these two types of space exist in the universe. But the no-energy space exists only outside the normal space with energy.

4) Law of Conservation of Space – “Space cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be compressed or expanded (both not possible manually). On compression, its energy content increases (inbuilt energy like vacuum energy or to say its energy density increases) and on expansion, its energy content decreases but both these changes are negligible and observable on cosmic scales only.” It can also be stated as – “In a cosmic event involving the compression or expansion of space, the amount of space is always conserved.”

5) As matter and energy are equivalent (by the relation E=mc^2), if matter is able to exert gravity then so must energy.

6) If matter is able to exert gravity then so must energy which means that energy must also be able to curve space (spacetime) like matter. Example of this is Quasars which are very high energy sources and which can actually curve the space (spacetime) around them.

7) Gravity was present in the pre-big bang universe. But it was not the ordinary kind of weak gravity that we observe today but a strong and more dominant form of interaction.

8) In the pre-big bang universe, energy could exert gravitational pull on energy surrounding it and condense that region to increase its energy density thus making energy-energy interaction possible.

9) Total energy of the universe before big bang is equal to the total energy of the universe after big bang. It is nothing but the application and consequence of the law of conservation of energy. This universal law implies that our universe is essentially a zero-energy universe with the positive energy of all matter and radiations being balanced by an equal amount of negative gravitational energy. Since the total energy of our universe is zero, the problem of appearance of energy out of nothing which seems to violate the law of conservation of energy is avoided.

UPDATED CONCEPTS-INCLUDING SOME NEW CONCEPTS

EXISTENCE OF SPACE BEFORE BIG BANG

                             We all know the Law of Conservation of Energy which is a universal law applicable to all phases of the universe. It states that – “Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another.” The initial singularity of the universe had an enormous amount of energy within it which was the total energy of the universe. The present day cosmology assumes that the total energy of the universe along with space, time, fundamental interactions including gravity, matter and radiations were all “created out of nothing.”

                              According to VFH, this assumption is wrong as it assumes the existence of space before big bang. This space existed in the absence of time and so in the absence of spacetime continuum. It was space only, not spacetime. So we will call it as the pre-big bang space or the pre-big bang vacuum.

                       Space was present in the universe before the big bang. It was not created from anywhere. A similar law like Law of Conservation of Energy must be applicable to space also which will be called the “Law of Conservation of Space.” The latest and the most important concept – “Law of Conservation of Space” is introduced here to account for the existence of space prior to big bang. It is also a hypothetical concept like VFH.

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF SPACE

                             Space is not a quantity to be measured. But if we consider the amount of space (density of space) as a quantity that can be measured, we can state the Law of Conservation of Space just like the Law of Conservation of Energy. It can be stated as – “Space cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be compressed or expanded (both not possible manually). On compression, its energy content increases (inbuilt energy like vacuum energy or to say its energy density increases) and on expansion, its energy content decreases but both these changes are negligible and observable on cosmic scales only.” It can also be stated as – “In a cosmic event involving the compression or expansion of space, the amount of space is always conserved.”

TYPES OF SPACE – UPDATED

                                     One of the predictions of VFT was about the two types of space – a) Space without vacuum energy density also called no-energy space and b) Space with vacuum energy density also called the normal space.

                                      Of these, normal space is that space which is supposed to begin with the big bang singularity. It is that space which is curved by the presence of matter. But it was present before the big bang itself (but this space with energy existed only in other universes that existed outside our universe). The type of space for which the Law of Conservation of Space is applicable is the normal space or space with vacuum energy density. The normal space or space with energy was present before the big bang (in other universes before the creation of our universe) and it was the type of space inside the big bang singularity which had almost an infinite curvature and energy density. After the big bang, it expanded and that expansion is continuing now also at an accelerated pace.

                                      The no-energy space or the space without energy is that type of space which existed outside the big bang singularity. The region outside the big bang singularity can be called as ‘emptiness’ or ‘nothing’. It was devoid of space (normal space) and energy. That’s why it is called space without energy or no-energy space. Still it is called space because spatial dimensions can be taken or measured in that type of space also.

CREATION OF THE INITIAL SINGULARITY – UPDATED

                                Earlier I assumed that the singularity or the primordial patch of spacetime was created by the action of gravity on vacuum fields containing energy. But that assumption is unnecessary and actually violates the law of conservation of energy instead of obeying it. This is because existence of vacuum fields containing energy before the big bang will require an explanation for creation/appearance of those vacuum fields. Therefore we cannot assume that the vacuum fields simply existed indefinitely but were also created once according to the law of conservation of energy. The solution for this problem here is the most important notions of a zero-energy universe and that of existence of multiverses (multiple universes). Both will be explained in later blogposts.

Our universe is a zero-energy universe and initially our big bang singularity or the primordial patch of spacetime was created from no-space or space with zero energy, the mechanism of that creation we don't know yet and for explaining which the formalism of Quantum Gravity is required. Actually from the initial zero energy universe, the spacetime patch containing a finite amount of energy in the form of scalar fields was created. The rest of the events are explained by inflation theory as given in the first two blogposts are - the initial singularity or the primordial patch of spacetime contained vacuum fields within it which fluctuated and temporarily got stuck at a value. These stuck scalar fields gave rise to a bubble of false vacuum which contained within it a huge amount of anti-gravitational energy. This antigravitational  energy was actually cancelled by the build up of an equal amount of gravitational energy so that the net effect was zero. As the bubble expanded the energy density within it remained constant. So, as the bubble expanded in size its energy content increased. This energy thus formed is the total energy of our universe containing matter and radiations. Later the bubble decayed releasing the energy contained within in the form of an exploding fireball which then banged to create the universe.

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON VFT

                                  VFT assumes that space was present in the universe before the big bang and time began only later. This assumption actually takes into account that- the ‘emptiness’ (nothing) surrounding the primordial patch to be space itself (space without inbuilt energy content) since spatial dimensions can be taken or measured in that ‘emptiness’ also.

                                   According to the present day cosmology, space and time came together as a patch of spacetime which was the beginning of time. There must be “something special” which makes that space different from the surrounding ‘emptiness’ (nothing). That “something special” must be like the good old ‘ether’ (just for comparison, not actually) which was supposed to fill the entire universe but was later proved non-existent. That “something special” must be something like the presence of ‘Higgs field’ or some other similar object or parameter which actually differentiates the primordial patch of spacetime from the surrounding emptiness. Actually that “something special” must now remain everywhere throughout the space of the universe which is continuing its expansion.