Related papers: The Duhem-Quine thesis and the dark matter problem
The contemporary controversy about the fundamental obscurity in quantum mechanics keeps on the old one about the aim of science, which was between the founders of the quantum theory. The orthodox quantum mechanics could be created only at…
An interpretation and re-formulation of modern physics which removes the presumption of the space-time continuum, and bases physical theory on a small number of rational and empirical principles. After briefly describing the philosophical…
Quantum technology is seeing a remarkable explosion in interest due to a wave of successful commercial technology. As a wider array of engineers and scientists are needed, it is time we rethink quantum educational paradigms. Current…
We investigate the impact of the generalized uncertainty principle proposed by some approaches to quantum gravity such as string theory and doubly special relativity on the cosmology. Using generalized Poisson brackets, we obtain the…
This is an informal introduction to the ideas of decoherence and emergent classicality, including a simple account of the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory. It is aimed at undergraduates with a basic appreciation of quantum…
The flatness of galaxy rotation curves at large radii is generally considered to be a significant piece of evidence in support of the existence of dark matter. Several studies have claimed that post-Newtonian corrections to the Newtonian…
Angular momentum is taught in every classical mechanics course. It is a difficult topic with misconceptions commonly forming significant barriers to student success. My intention in writing this paper is to combat some of the most common…
These lecture notes aim to provide an introduction to dark matter from the perspective of astrophysics/cosmology. We start with a rapid overview of cosmology, including the evolution of the Universe, its thermal history and structure…
One of the most challenging and fascinating issues in mathematical and theoretical physics concerns identifying the common logic, if any, which underlies the physical world. More precisely, this involves the search of the possibly-unique…
The question of whether gravity is fundamentally quantum remains one of the most profound open problems in modern physics. A recently explored approach consists in testing gravity's ability to entangle quantum systems, which requires…
It is a well-known truism, inspired on the general theory of relativity, that gravity gravitates. Here we suggest the possibility that dark matter may be caused by the gravitation of the metric. At first sight this seems impossible since…
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago, there ensued a quest to understand the often counterintuitive predictions of the theory. These endeavors invariably begin with the assumption of the "truth"…
We attempt to contribute some novel points of view to the "foundations of quantum mechanics", using mathematical tools from "quantum probability theory" (such as the theory of operator algebras). We first introduce an abstract algebraic…
In spite of its popularity, it has not been possible to vindicate the conventional wisdom that classical mechanics is a limiting case of quantum mechanics. The purpose of the present paper is to offer an alternative point of view in which…
This paper outlines a deceptively complex problem in classical mechanics which the paper names the "Falling Astronaut Problem," and it explores a method for teachers to implement this problem in an undergraduate classroom. The paper…
One of the highest priorities in particle physics today is the identification of the constituents of dark matter. This manuscript is a supplement to pedagogical lectures given at the 2021 Les Houches Summer School on Dark Matter. The…
Usually considered highly speculative, tachyons can be treated via straightforward Einsteinian dynamics. Kinetic theory and thermodynamics for a gas of ``dark'' tachyons are readily constructed. Such a gas exhibits density and pressure…
We discuss arguments both in favor of and against dark matter. With the repeated failure of experiment to date to detect dark matter we discuss what could be done instead, and to this end look for clues in the data themselves. We identify…
Although dark matter is a central element of modern cosmology, the history of how it became accepted as part of the dominant paradigm is often ignored or condensed into a brief anecdotical account focused around the work of a few pioneering…
A discursive, non-technical, analysis is made of some of the basic issues that arise in almost any approach to quantum gravity, and of how these issues stand in relation to recent developments in the field. Specific topics include the…