Curious non-professional here.

Thought experiment that led me to the question: If we assume that at any given time there’s an extreme level of EM and gravitational waves propagating through some point within a cosmic void (a seemingly homogeneous “vacuum”): do the transient emissions form any kind of emergent field?

I understand the ever-present zero-point energy but that should be in absence of all else. I’m contemplating an emergent field formed by EM/gravitational traffic. Obviously this field is only as present or strong as the transient fields passing through this point under consideration.

Thank you.

  • A_A@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    In physics, emergence is used to describe a property, law, or phenomenon which occurs at macroscopic scales (in space or time) but not at microscopic scales, despite the fact that a macroscopic system can be viewed as a very large ensemble of microscopic systems.

    • JeredinOP
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      1 year ago

      “Solids are made of only three kinds of particles: electrons, protons, and neutrons. None of these are quasiparticles; instead a quasiparticle is an emergent phenomenon that occurs inside the solid. Therefore, while it is quite possible to have a single particle (electron, proton, or neutron) floating in space, a quasiparticle can only exist inside interacting many-particle systems such as solids.” Quasiparticle Wiki

      I’ve also been studying Phonons on Wiki: " However, photons are fundamental particles that can be individually detected, whereas phonons, being quasiparticles, are an emergent phenomenon."

      This is the micro/quantum phenomena I’m trying to further understand and was wondering if any quasi-fields/particles have been discovered or predicted in space - I couldn’t find any so far.

      • count_of_monte_carlo@lemmy.worldM
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        1 year ago

        A quasiparticle is more of a useful concept for describing the behavior of systems than it is a distinct object. In the example you cite, phonons are a convenient way of describing how vibrations are transmitted in matter. The fact that phonons are “quantized” is more accurately just emergent behavior from the system of atoms or molecules, a consequence of the fact that the atoms have quantized vibrational states.

        As an analogy, consider a ripple in a pond. The ripple appears to be a real, distinct thing. You can describe it with math (as a wave) and predict its behavior. But it cannot exist separately from the water in the pond. The ripple is an emergent phenomenon in water, a quasi-object. It only exists as a collective behavior of the water molecules.

        By definition quasiparticles cannot exist in a vacuum.

      • A_A@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Physics needs new ideas and enthusiasm at least to try and explain this Amaterasu particle.
        Your ideas here are similar to my own : there is a (yet unknown) mechanism that is generating particles and it occurs in otherwise empty space.