Syracuse University | 02 Aug 2010
Non-Pauli Transitions from Spacetime Noncommutativity - AP Balachandran et alAll of the matter in the universe—everything we see, feel and smell—has a certain predictable structure, thanks to the tiny electrons spinning around their atomic nuclei in a series of concentric shells or atomic levels. A fundamental tenet of this orderly structure is that no two electrons can occupy the same atomic level (quantum state) at the same time—a principle called the Pauli exclusion principle, which is based on Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum theory.
However, a team of Syracuse University physicists recently developed a new theoretical model to explain how the Pauli exclusion principle can be violated and how, under certain rare conditions, more than one electron can simultaneously occupy the same quantum state.
Their model, published July 26 in Physical Review Letters (vol. 105) may help explain how matter behaves at the edges of black holes and contribute to the ongoing scientific quest for a unified theory of quantum gravity. Physical Review Letters is a publication of the prestigious American Physical Society.
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The orderly way in which electrons fill up atomic levels provides stability and structure to matter, as well as dictates the chemical properties of elements on the Periodic Table. Underlying this stability is the ability to pinpoint the location of objects (electrons, protons and neutrons) almost exactly in space and time. The new model posits that at the level where quantum gravity is significant, this picture of space-time continuum breaks down, deeply affecting the rotational symmetry of the atoms and triggering electron transitions (movement from one shell to another) that violate the Pauli principle.
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According to the model, violations of the Pauli principle would theoretically occur in nature in a time span that is longer than the age of the universe ... The fact that the Pauli principle can be violated may also help explain how matter behaves at the edge of black holes ...
- Physical Review Letters 105 051601 (26 July 2010) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.051601