Theoretical Development For The Photon Mass and The Quantization of The Gravitational Field
By Michael Harney
First published in Journal of Theoretics, Vol. 5-6
mharney@signaldisplay.com
One of the implications of the Special Theory of Relativity is the concept of a massless photon. A massless photon seems to be required by Special Relativity as a photon of any mass would have to be infinite based on the mass-transformation equations where it's velocity is equal to c and the function is then undefined. The problem with a massless photon arises in describing the photon as a particle with angular momentum and spin, not to mention its interaction with a gravitational field. All of these concepts are dealt with at an energy level and the familiar formula E = h*frequency is used as a substitution when mass is required in the classical formulas, with energy being related through the photon's momentum, E = momentum*c.
It was shown in 1998 from the Super-Kamiokande experiment that neutrinos generated from cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere can oscillate between muon and electron types with a mass for the neutrino being inferred, showing that there is interest in finding a mass for formerly massless particles.
In the following sections we will show a derivation for Hubble’s constant from Mach's Principle as it applies to potential energy and also from matter-wave equations that assume the photon has a mass, which we also predict from this equation as 5.81 x 10-69 Kg, which closely matches an estimate found by JP Vigier after analyzing a small ether drift in the Michelson-Morley experiment that was considered experimental error for many years [4]. Hubble’s constant from both the matter wave and energy equations is quite close to the actual value, with the matter wave equation giving the closest match to the current estimated value of 70 Km/sec/Mpsec. We also find a relationship by setting Hubble’s constant equal in both matter wave and energy equations and this leads to the quantization of the gravitational field through Planck’s constant.
First for the energy model and following Mach's Principle, let us assume an object in the Universe with rest mass m0 and the entire mass of the Universe is acting on this object gravitationally, so that the gravitational potential energy of all objects in the Universe acting on this single rest mass is found by integrating Newton's force law over the radius of the Universe to obtain,
G*(Mass of Universe)*m0 /(radius of Universe) = m0*c2,
equation 1
From this relation of the gravitational potential energy of the mass of the Universe acting on one object we see immediately that the rest mass cancels from both sides and the speed of light is in fact dependent upon the gravitational constant, the mass of the Universe and the radius of the Universe. Of these three factors, the radius of the Universe is the one assumed most likely to change over time and this formula shows that the speed of light is changing very slowly relative to our own time frame. If we choose a density for the Universe of 5 x 10-27 Kg/m3 [2], and assume a spherical shape then the mass of the Universe is calculated as the density * volume with radius of the Universe equal to 1.9 x 1026 meters. The mass of the Universe is then found to be 1.44 x 1053 Kg. Substituting these values into equation 1, the speed of light c is calculated to be 2.25 x 108 m/sec, close to the actual value and within the same order of magnitude. This isn't too bad considering that we are speculating on the mass and radius of the Universe from statistical density data, assumed spherical shape.
The conclusion from equation 1 is that the speed of light will decrease slowly as the Universe expands. In fact, if we rearrange equation 1 so that c is set in terms of R we have,
c = [G*Mass-Universe/R]1/2 equation 2
and differentiating c with respect to R gives us,
dc/dR = -1/2*[(G*Mass-Universe)1/2]*R-3/2 equation 3
and with the known expansion rate of the Universe being 3 x 108 m/sec = c (from Hubble’s formula v = H*R and substituting the radius of the Universe to find v=c) we can find the rate of change in the speed of light using the chain rule as follows: dc/dt = dc/dR*dR/dt (dR/dt is the expansion rate of the Universe equal to c which we are allowing to be a variable as we assume it is changing) or,
dc/dt = -1/2*[(G*Mass-Universe)1/2]*c*R-3/2 equation 4
Which is a differential equation of the first order in terms of c with a solution of:
c(t) = k1*[e (-k2*t)] equation 5
Which shows the exponential decay of the speed of light with time variable t. The constant k1 is a constant of integration and decay-constant k2 has the following value:
k2 = 1/2*[(G*Mass-Universe)1/2]*R-3/2 equation 6
= Hubble’s constant of
0.59 x 10-18 seconds-1
Or 18.2 Km/sec/Mpsec
So after substituting mass and radius quantities already discussed from equation 1 we find that the decay constant for the speed of light is Hubble’s constant (the value from equation 6 is about ¼ the current estimated value but within the same order of magnitude). As the speed of light with respect to time depends on Hubble’s constant, and we use the speed of light to verify this constant (through Doppler redshift) it may be possible that these factors result in the ambiguity of the measured value of Hubble’s constant. It does seem clear however, that the decay in the speed of light is controlled by the expansion rate of the Universe.
The integration constant k1 can be found in equation 5 by using the current value for the speed of light as c(t) = 3 x 108 m/sec, using Hubble’s constant for k2 and assuming an age for the Universe for the time variable (the hard part). After differentiating equation 5 we have,
dc/dt = -k1*k2*[e (-k2*t)] equation 7
Two points are noted from equations 1 through 7 as follows: 1) the speed of light is decreasing exponentially over time, and 2) equation 7 implies a deceleration of light, which in turn suggests a photon mass (if equation 1 is rewritten as Newton's Force law on the rest mass of the photon, dc/dt is the acceleration in F=ma, and the same numerical value results). This suggests that the mass of the photon is based on a factor involved in the expansion of the Universe. As equation 6 results in such a small decay constant (Hubble’s constant) for the speed of light and these values are hard to determine exactly, the values in equation 6 need to be evaluated properly for a correct value of dc/dt and slight measurements on the change in the speed of light are being investigated [3].
Based on equation 5 and knowing the current value of c = 3 x 108 m/sec, we can estimate that at t = 0 (early stages of the Universe), c = 2.7 * 2.7 * 3 x 108 m/sec = 22 x 108 m/sec. This higher value of c in the early Universe may explain the puzzling phenomena of superluminal objects traveling in many cases at twice the current speed of light. Although many explanations for their higher speed focus on measurement techniques, some of these objects may be far enough away from us and have existed at an earlier time in the Universe when c was a much higher value.
If we accept that Mach’s Principle is correct and that gravitational potential energy is equivalent to rest-mass energy, we may ask how this relationship and the decay of the speed of light affect the Lorentz transformations? If we examine an equation similiar to equation 1 where the gravitational potential energy of the Universe is acting on an accelerating object at velocity v, [G*(Mass of Universe)*m0 / (R= radius of Universe)] = m0*v2 as v approaches c. Rewriting the gravitational potential energy on the left side as the total rest-mass energy of the Universe (which is also the limit to how much energy can be used to accelerate an object), (Mass of Universe)* c2 = m0*v2 in the limit as v approaches c, m0 approaches the Mass of the Universe. Thus, we would expect that as objects approach the speed of light, their mass approaches the incredibly large value of 1.44 x 1053 Kg. Although Special Relativity tells us that m0 goes to infinity as v approaches c, our current instruments probably can’t tell the difference between infinity and 1.44 x 1053 unless m0 is very large to begin with. If m0 is very large then the ratio Mass-Universe / m0 may be more measurable.
Next, let’s revisit matter waves as described by Debroglie in 1924. From the knowledge of light having particle-like properties, Debroglie drew the conclusion that matter should have wave-like properties and assigned the formula (again using the energy relation of E = h*frequency and incorporating momentum):
Matter-wavelength of particle = h / (mass-particle * velocity-particle)
equation 8
where h = Planck's constant of 6.62 x 10-34 Joules*sec
It has been shown in the Bohr model of the atom that the stability of electronic orbits is obtained by requiring an integral number of matter-wavelengths of the electron to equal the circumference of each orbit. This ensures stability of each electronic orbit in the Bohr model of the atom, and we will apply this same principle to the matter-wavelength of a photon and the diameter of the Universe.
We then set the matter-wavelength of a photon equal to the diameter of the Universe (assuming perhaps that the Universe is still radiation-dominated with the majority of photons travelling at velocity c through free-space),
Diameter of Universe = h / (mass-photon * speed of light), equation 9
From equation 9, we can then state,
2 x 1.9 x 1026 meters = h / (mass-photon * speed of light), equation 10
For the speed of light we use c = 3 x 108 m/sec and we find the mass of the photon as
Mass-photon = 5.81 x 10-69 Kg or 3.23 x 10-33 eV
This value for photon mass closely matches an estimate determined by JP Vigier after analyzing the results of the Michelson-Morley experiment more closely [4]. The Michelson-Morley experimental data shows a small ether drift of 8 Km/sec which is periodic with the rotation of the Earth, showing that it is statistically significant. The introduction of a small photon mass of 10-68 Kg removes this drift and the absolute reference frame that is tied to it. The introduction of this photon mass using the Einstein-DeBroglie relation re-establishes a relativistic explanation for the experiment. If we now take equation 9 and rearrange the c term with the Diameter term ( = 2 * Radius):
Speed of Light = c = h / (mass-photon * R * 2), equation 11
Where R = radius of Universe
Then we can take the derivative, dc/dR as we performed for the energy relationship in equation 3,
dc/dR = - h / (2 * mass-photon * R2), equation 12
We then use the chain rule again, dc/dt = dc/dR * dR/dt and use dR/dt = c = 3 x 108 m/sec to form the first-order differential equation,
dc/dt = - k2*dR/dt = - k2*c, equation 13
with k2 = h / (2 * mass-photon * R2), equation 14
and using values of R = 1.9 x 1026 meters, mass-photon = 5.81 x 10-69 Kg, h = Planck’s constant we find,
k2 = Hubble’s constant of 1.57 x 10-18 seconds-1
Or 48.4 Km/sec/Mpsec
Compare the value of Hubble’s constant calculated in equation 14 with that of equation 6. The value found by using matter-wavelength relationships is a little more than twice the value from energy relationships.
The solution to equation 13 is similar to that of equation 5, as both are first-order differentials:
c(t) = k1*[e (-k2*t)] , equation 15
with k1 being a constant of integration and k2 as determined from equation 14.
As k2 from equation 14 is about twice the value of k2 determined from energy relationships in equation 6 (and both are sufficiently large), k1 from equation 15 will also be close to the value of k1 in equation 5 (determined by using a known value of c, current time since expansion t, and k2 in equation 15 – estimating t = 1/k2). Therefore, dc/dt as determined by taking the derivative of equation 15,
dc/dt = -k1*k2*[e (-k2*t)], equation 16
gives the value for dc/dt
We can also set equation 14 equal to approximately twice equation 6:
k2 = h / (2 * mass-photon * R2) = 2 * 1/2*[(G*Mass-Universe)1/2]*R-3/2
equation 17
From equation 17 we can solve for G, the gravitational constant,
G = [h / (2 * mass-photon * R1/2)]2 * (Mass-Universe)-1
= 1.2 x 10-10
equation 18
Compared to the traditional value for G of 6.67 x 10-11, the results of equation 18 are about twice this value.
It can also be shown by manipulation of equation 17 that,
G * Mass-Universe / R = [h / (2 * mass-photon)]2, equation 19
Or that the potential energy of the mass of the Universe on any object is a function of Planck’s constant and the mass of the photon.
And based on equation 19, we can quantize gravitational potential energy levels as follows:
G * Mass-Universe / (n2 * R) = [h / (2 * n * mass-photon)]2, equation 20
Where n goes from 1 to 1061 which is actually the limit based on Planck Length - see (Defining Gravity With DeBroglie Waves).
The derivation of Hubble’s constant has been shown by using concepts of Newtonian Mechanics and Special Relativity (gravitational potential energy = rest-mass energy), and from Quantum Mechanics (matter-wavelength formula) and by assuming in the derivation a change in the speed of light as the radius of the Universe increases. A very close match to the measured Hubble’s constant was found in both cases and a decay rate for the speed of light was determined to be the same by both cases. By setting the equations for Hubble’s constant in both energy and matter-wave forms equal to each other, a relationship between gravitational potential energy and Planck’s constant is found, resulting in the quantization of the gravitational field.
It is hoped that the developments in this paper will inspire investigations into the speed of light decay and measurment of gravitational potential energy at quantized levels. The predicted mass of the photon as suggested herein is also cause for more investigation, as current upper limits on the photon’s mass are still above the predicted value by a factor of about 1010. For the follow on paper in this series, visit (Defining Gravity With DeBroglie Waves).
References
1. Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics, Zeilik & Smith, Saunders College Publishing, 1987. p. 432
2. Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics, Zeilik & Smith, Saunders College Publishing, 1987. p. 435
3. Troitskii, V.S. "Physical Constants and the evolution of the Universe" Astrophysics and Space Science v139 p389-411 1987.
4. Vigier, J.P. "Relativistic Interpretation (with Non-Zero Photon Mass) of the Small Ether Drift Velocity Detected by Michelson, Morley, and Miller", APEIRON Vol.4 Nr.2-3, pp.71-76, Apr.-Jul 1997.