Evidence for String Theory

[Jordan14]

I don't know if anyone has read about that astronomers have discover dual images of both galaxies and a quaser. This means that the light had to have taken two directions, something a superstring might do. I can't actually find a very good link this is the best I can get because New Scienctist's article has to be payed for:

 

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424781.400

 

Any other links will be of good use

[ydoaPs]

that's not cool. you have to subscribe to read the whole article.

[Jordan14]

That's what I said above but that's the only thing I could find on the internet I suppose I could quote the whole lot out of New Scientist, but I think I would be breaking copyright laws.

[J'Dona]

I've only read the excerpt for non-subscribers, but that sounds an awful like a cosmic string. The idea is that one way of detecting it would be by the appearance of pairs of stars, galaxies, and the like as light is bent around it on both sides, and that seems similar to what is being described.

 

I don't know that cosmic strings are related to superstring theory though. I'll see if I can find more online.

[Martin]

 

I don't know that cosmic strings are related to superstring theory though. I'll see if I can find more online.

 

the longstanding concept of a "cosmic string" is not the same as the strings of stringtheory

too bad they sound the same, causing confusion

here is WIKIPEDIA on cosmic string

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_strings

 

the (not string-theory type of ) cosmic string is a topological defect which can occur in classical spacetime.

 

some discussion here

http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/blog/archives/000123.html'>http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/blog/archives/000123.html

 

---sample---

I think this article is mainly an example of the careless journalism at New Scientist. Not long ago this observation would only have been discussed in the context of cosmic strings, understood as topological defects in spacetime resulting from gauge field phase transitions. This should still be the primary candidate for an explanation of such a phenomenon, I would think.

...

Posted by: Chris W. at December 16, 2004 06:15 PM

---end quote---

 

a cosmic string may have been observed

see this 2002 article

http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0203466

 

and this 2004 article about the same thing

http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0401147

 

My guess is that the New Scientist item contains little or no information not already available in these two technical articles, but I have no way of

making certain of that. Let's keep each other posted. Also a good idea to

watch Woit's blog

http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/blog/

for any kind of current story like this.

[1veedo]

I've only read the excerpt for non-subscribers, but that sounds an awful like a cosmic string. The idea is that one way of detecting it would be by the appearance of pairs of stars, galaxies, and the like as light is bent around it on both sides, and that seems similar to what is being described.

 

I don't know that cosmic strings are related to superstring theory though. I'll see if I can find more online.

Yeah, but there could be other explanations.

 

In string theory, inflation would have started out from a plank sized mass. Basically a thermal fluctuation would eventually make 3 dimensions larger then the rest and these three would be more likely for strings to cancel out and produce unwounded strings as energy which would fuel growth even more. Most strings would eventually 'fall' off but ti is possible for some to have not canceled , even if it be just one in the entire cosmos.

 

edit:

I stand corrected by the above post

 

Yeah, but that's how string theory explains 3 larger dimensions along with inflation. I always thought that was how the idea of a cosmic string was produced though... oh wll.

[Jordan14]

But is there anyway is actually PROVE that it is a cosmic string or are we just presuming it is because we don't actually want to be left with something we don't understand. All article are not 100% sure of the cosmic string being a cosmic string at all. This is probally me just wanting strings to be proved.