The Origin of Matter

The Origin of Matter and Information
(revised Sept., 2008)
John A. Gowan
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jag8/index.html
(Note to readers: the reactions presented in this paper, and the "X" IVB and the "leptoquark" particles, are hypothetical. For a guide to the particles, both "real" and speculative, see the "Particle Table". For a more comprehensive overview of this subject, see: "The Higgs Boson and the Weak Force IVBs". This paper treats only the asymmetric decay of electrically neutral leptoquark-antileptoquark pairs.)
During the first moments of the birth of our Cosmos (the "Big Bang"), all the matter of our Universe was produced by an asymmetric reaction between matter and antimatter involving the quarks and color charges of the strong force, and the leptons and Intermediate Vector Bosons (IVBs) of the weak force. The reaction requires the asymmetric decay of a matter-antimatter pair of "leptoquarks", which are neutral with respect to both electric and color charge ("leptoquarks" are very massive, internally fractured leptons). This asymmetric decay is "mediated" or catalyzed by the weak force IVB "X", and can be represented succinctly by the reaction equation below (in which antiparticles are underlined):
X(Lq ) x Lq -----> baryon + vlq + (energy)
where Lq indicates a leptoquark and vlq a leptoquark antineutrino.
We can also write this reaction in a more specific and complete form as:
X[(Lq x Lq) (vlq x vlq )] -----> bbt + vlq + bb(or)X[(Lq x Lq) (vlq x vlq )] -----> bbt + vlq + bb + bb(or)X[(Lq x Lq) (vlq x vlq )] -----> bbt + vlq + bt+ +u- + vu
1) where the left-side reactants are:
-) "Lq" represents an (electrically neutral) antileptoquark whose quarks are compressed so tightly (by the "X" IVB) that their color charge has vanished;-) "(Lq x Lq)" represents an electrically neutral leptoquark-antileptoquark pair (leptoquarks are also "color" neutral);-) "(vlq x vlq )" represents a leptoquark neutrino-antineutrino pair (particle-antiparticle pairs are shown in brackets with an x between them to indicate their linkage - the lower-case "linking x" not to be confused with the "X" IVB); (neutrinos are the pure, "bare", or explicit form of "identity" or "number" charge - the weak force charge sometimes referred to as "flavor").
2) the reaction is mediated by:
-) an Intermediate Vector Boson (IVB) of the weak force, "X", which catalyzes the reaction by forming the complex X[(Lq x Lq ) (vlq x vlq )], in which the members of the complex are brought into such close spatial proximity by the X that they can exchange, neutralize, or otherwise cancel each other's charges. In this case the vlq identity charge of the neutrino particle pair annihilates the anti-identity charge of Lq in the leptoquark particle pair. (See similar weak force reaction mechanisms in: "The Particle Table" and "The 'W' IVB and the Weak Force Mechanism.") The "X" IVB can also be thought of as the quantized expression of a unified force "symmetric energy state" (the GUT symmetric energy state) in which quarks and leptons have merged their separate identities. (See: "The Higgs Boson and the Weak Force IVBs".)
3) the right-side products of this reaction are:
-) "bbt", the unreacted leptoquark carried over from the left side (originally "Lq"), whose quarks have expanded under their mutually repulsive (electrical and quantum mechanical) forces to reveal their color charges. By the simple expansion of its internal, latent, or nascent quarks (perhaps in concert with the rapidly expanding early Universe), this particle has transformed itself from a "colorless" leptoquark to a "colored", normal, electrically neutral, heavy baryon (hyperon) containing the bottom (b) and top (t) heavy quark species ("flavors"); it will eventually decay to the ground state proton (via the much lighter "W" IVB). -) "vlq", an antileptoquark neutrino, liberated from the X complex when its partner (vlq) annihilated with the anti-identity charge of the antileptoquark Lq. The presence of "vlq" balances the baryon number charge of the newly formed matter baryon (bbt);-) energy, in the form of some electrically neutral meson (bb) or meson pair (bb x bb), or some other electrically neutral combination of decay products such as the positively charged meson (bt+), the negatively charged muon (u-), and the muon antineutrino (vu). This is all that remains of the antileptoquark Lq, which being electrically neutral, and with its color charge vanished due to the compression of its quarks by the X (in the limit of "asymptotic freedom"), will simply convert its neutralized mass-energy to lighter particles in some energy, momentum, charge, and spin conserving combination, and self-annihilate, once its conserved number charge has been canceled by the leptoquark neutrino "vlq".
Discussion
The reaction begins with a symmetric matter-antimatter pair of electrically neutral leptoquarks and a symmetric matter-antimatter pair of leptoquark neutrinos. The source of both is the (real or virtual) particle "sea", the unlimited reservoir of symmetric, particle-antiparticle pairs of all kinds created by the interaction of light with the metric of spacetime (these particle pairs are real or virtual depending upon the energy density and temperature of their spacetime environment). From this symmetric mixture we nevertheless produce, via the mediation of the X, an asymmetric product - an unpaired matter hyperon (which will decay to a proton, electron, and electron antineutrino), and an unpaired antileptoquark neutrino, which remains unchanged to balance the "identity" or baryon number charge of the hyperon and its eventual decay product, the proton. The asymmetric character of the weak force is expressed in the decay of just one member of the leptoquark-antileptoquark pair, rather than both. What we actually expect is that this decay occurs slightly more often than its antimatter counterpart (for reasons unknown), thus producing a surplus of matter baryons.
The electrical neutrality of the leptoquark pair is crucial to the success of the reaction, as an electrically charged pair (Lq- x Lq+) would immediately annihilate each other. This electrical neutrality is the reason why this reaction requires a composite particle whose constituent quarks can sum their fractional charges to zero electric charge (as in the neutron). The quark-lepton-IVB system also requires a Higgs scalar boson to select the appropriate force unification domain and associated IVBs (since there are more than one - GUT (X) or electroweak (W). While the quantized weak force transformation mechanism may seem dauntingly complex, no doubt this is nevertheless the simplest system which is capable of breaking the primordial symmetry of light and its particle-antiparticle pairs in a repeatable and invariant fashion, producing the atomic matter of our material Universe.
Color Charge
Just as crucial to the success of this reaction as its electrical neutrality is the internal symmetry of the conserved color charge. Because the gluons which carry the color charge are composed of color-anticolor charge pairs in all possible combinations, the gluon field as a whole sums to zero color. The color field will sum to zero physically if the quarks are sufficiently compressed, yet return to full (explicit) color charge when the compressive forces are relaxed and the quarks expand under the influence of their mutually repulsive forces (both electric and quantum mechanical). This symmetry property allows the antileptoquark to effectively vanish, via the weak force X and leptoquark neutrino (essentially, the process of "proton decay"), when its quarks are compressed and the color charge is only implicit, but prevents such total decays when the quarks separate and the color charge becomes explicit (because neutrinos do not carry and hence cannot cancel the conserved color charge). It is the role of the X IVB to effect the compression of the quarks, vanishing the color charge (the effect is the limiting case of the principle of "asymptotic freedom" (Politzer, Gross, and Wilczek 1973) - (2004 Nobel prize).
Hence the antileptoquark can vanish in the high temperature, energy-dense environment of the Big Bang, but the quarks of the leptoquark (the particle-pair partner which does not decay), simply expand (as the Universe expands and cools) under their mutually repulsive forces to reveal their conserved color charge. By simply expanding its quarks, the remaining "singlet" leptoquark is transformed into a heavy, neutral baryon which can only decay partially (to the ground state proton), but cannot vanish completely, as its color charge can neither be neutralized by, nor transferred to, any alternative charge carrier (no leptons carry color charge, and mesons carry only complementary color-anticolor charges). To become a baryon, the leptoquark must only resist decay long enough that the ambient compressive forces of the Big Bang become insufficient to prevent the expansion of its quarks, a very short time indeed in the rapidly expanding and cooling early Universe. For a short time during the early Universe, the X IVB will be indistinguishable from the very dense primordial metric. After the Universe expands and cools, however, the energy density of the X will be greater than that of the ambient metric, and energy to produce it will have to be borrowed (in accordance with the usual quantum mechanical rules governing the lifetime of Heisenberg virtual particles).
The asymmetry in the weak force reaction creating matter is very small (on the order of one part per billion). In most reactions, the leptoquarks will be electrically charged and simply annihilate each other; of those in which the leptoquark partners are neutral, most will annihilate each other anyway, or decay simultaneously despite their electrical neutrality. A few neutral leptoquarks will decay asymmetrically (without their partners also decaying) via the X and leptoquark neutrino, but a few more antileptoquarks will decay asymmetrically by an analogous antimatter route. It is this slight imbalance (for which there is no explanation) that produces all the matter of the present Universe. Matter and antimatter are evidently not perfectly symmetrical opposites, at least not in their interactions with the weak force IVBs. Even though matter and antimatter are produced in symmetric pairs, they do not decay symmetrically: there is some unknown, subtle difference between them which affects their rate of weak force decay and creates the material Cosmos (Cronin 1981).
The hypothetical "Higgs" scalar boson is presumed to endow the IVBs with mass, and through them, the elementary particles also. The actual conversion of free energy to quantized mass forms such as the IVBs, quarks, and leptons is thought to be "scaled" or "gauged" by the "Higgs". This particle is actively being sought at the largest accelerators; its mass is thought to lie between 100 and 1000 proton masses. (See: Science vol. 315, 23 March, 2007 page 1657.) As mentioned above, the quantized Higgs boson is necessary to scale or "gauge" the interaction in a repeatable and invariant fashion to the appropriate force unification symmetric energy level (the GUT or the electroweak), in which the separate identities of the quarks and/or leptons are merged and hence can be transformed, swapped, or exchanged without difficulty by the resident IVBs. (See: "The Higgs Boson and the Weak Force IVBs".)
Neutrinos
The crucial role of the neutrino in the creation of particles must also be emphasized. The neutrino is the alternative charge carrier for the "identity" charge, a symmetry debt of light which accrues from the "anonymity" of light. All photons (quanta of light) are alike - they have no individual identity, one cannot be distinguished from another - hence their "symmetry of anonymity". The elementary particle spectrum, however - the leptonic series of electron, muon, tau, and (perhaps) leptoquark - are distinguishable one from another: they are not alike, they occupy different "rungs" on the quantum "ladder" or "spectrum" of massive leptonic elementary particles, and their antiparticles are also distinguishable by their opposite spin. Hence the symmetry/information debt of "identity" is in contrast to the photon "sea" of anonymity and is carried by elementary particles as a charge, where it is usually referred to as the conserved "number" charge of the leptons and baryons (all baryons carry one and the same number or identity charge, that of their leptonic ancestor, the leptoquark (vlq) - this neutrino has never been observed because proton decay has never been observed). The leptoquark (or baryon) antineutrino is an excellent candidate for the "dark matter" of the universe.
The conservation of light's various symmetries is required by Noether's Theorem. The charges of matter are the symmetry debts of light. "Identity" or "number" charge is the symmetry debt of the weak force, recording and conserving the broken symmetry of light's anonymity. (See: "Symmetry Principles of the Unified Field Theory".)
In the massive leptons, including the leptoquark, this identity charge is said to be "hidden", or in its "implicit" form. The neutrino is the "explicit" or "bare" form of identity charge. As such, the neutrino functions as an alternative carrier of identity charge, which otherwise could only be carried by the particle itself, or neutralized by its antiparticle. It is because this charge is specifically "identity" that it alone, among all other charges, must have its own unique carrier. In contrast, the universal electric charge can be carried by, or transferred to, any other lepton, baryon, or meson, and color charge can be carried by any quark. But identity, being specific to each "rung" of the elementary particle quantum "ladder" (spectrum), requires a carrier specific to that rung, either the particle itself or its specific neutrino. (Note that the identity charge carried by the electron, muon, tau, and baryon, while different from each other, are exactly the same within each particle type; hence it is quite possible for one electron to swap identities with another electron, as in reactions mediated by the "Z" IVB, but identities cannot be exchanged between different types of elementary particles - an electron cannot swap identities with a muon, for example. When a muon decays to an electron, the identities of both particles are conserved or neutralized by their separate neutrinos, a reaction requiring the mediation of the "W" IVB).
Without the neutrino, there would be no material Universe, as there would be no alternative carrier for identity charge - only particles and antiparticles could carry this charge and the system would be "stuck" with particle-antiparticle pairs which could only annihilate each other. Manifestation requires "information" which is in its essential character asymmetric - otherwise it is not "information". In the particle realm, the fundamental bit of information is "identity". Particles can manifest only because their identity can also be carried by neutrinos, which provide a conserved alternative to the usual antiparticle carriers. These alternative carriers maintain the essential features of the original symmetry by balancing or neutralizing the identity charge of the manifest particle such that overall identity still sums to zero, as it did in the particle-antiparticle pair: identity is simply carried in two different forms, one "hidden" or implicit in the particle, one "bare" or explicit in the neutrino. (Whether or not neutrinos have mass makes no difference to their role as the alternative, "bare", or explicit carrier of identity charge; most charges are in fact carried by massive particles. If the leptoquark neutrino is massive, it may account for the "missing mass" or "dark matter" of the Cosmos.)
Recent observations suggest that neutrinos "oscillate" among their several identities; in this they are somewhat similar to their massive leptonic counterparts which exchange identities among themselves (and with particle-antiparticle pairs in the virtual particle "sea"), but which require the mediation of the "W" IVB and their specific neutrinos to do so. Despite these "oscillations" or excursions into "identity" space, only an electron neutrino can cancel or neutralize an electron's hidden identity charge; hence neutrinos must revert to type in any interaction with a specific lepton - perhaps another example of a quantum mechanical "collapsing wave function". (See: Science Vol. 313, 21 July, 2006 page 291.)
The IVBs
Because all particles are derived from the interaction of light with the structural metric of spacetime, the virtual particle "sea" will contain any asymmetry embedded in light, spacetime, or their interaction. The only asymmetry we know of in either light or spacetime is the potential time asymmetry; in light the component of time is implicitly expressed as "frequency". In virtual particle pairs the potential for asymmetry is expressed as "information" in the form of various charges, which in unpaired "real" particles we characterize as the conserved symmetry debts of light. It is likely that the IVB particles are "metric" in origin, "string-like" particles (as in the particles of "string theory"), which are composed of a compressed dimensional matrix requiring a huge binding energy to maintain - the source of the IVB's enormous mass-energy (the W is about 80 times more massive than the proton). This compressed metric, derived from the dense metric of the early Universe, is the mechanism which enables the IVBs to bring particles into such close spatial proximity that they can exchange charges, swap identities, or create new ones without violating the applicable conservation laws. Being derived from the metric, the asymmetric principle (if any) embedded in the IVBs must apparently be time. The time asymmetry is reflected in the differential rate of decay of leptoquarks vs antileptoquarks.
The view we adopt here is that the mass of the "W" recreates the dense metric of the electroweak force unification era, when all leptons shared a single "flavor" or identity, and similarly, all quarks shared a single flavor. The "X" IVB recreates the higher level, more energetic GUT force unification era, when all leptons and quarks merged their identities (the earlier "leptoquark era" during which the strong and electroweak forces were joined). The Higgs boson is the quantized particle which selects between these eras or force unification symmetric energy states, "gauging" or "scaling" the appropriate energy level or symmetry domain, while the IVBs do the transformation work (there is a distinct Higgs for each era). This complex weak force particle creation and transformation mechanism is necessary to ensure that the elementary particles created today are the same in all respects as those created eons ago during the "Big Bang" - charge invariance and symmetry conservation require no less. (See: "The Higgs Boson and the Weak Force IVBs".)
Like the "X", the "W" is a heavy "metric" particle, but much less massive (see: "The Particle Table"). Both X and W have the similar role of bringing ordinary particles very close together within their spatially compressed metrics. The very massive X compresses quark triplets, the less massive W incorporates baryons, mesons, or leptons requiring alternative charge carriers into complexes with leptonic virtual particle-antiparticle pairs that can provide carrier leptons (or with mesons which can supply quark colors and "flavors"). Similarly, the Z brings particles so close together that (if they are compatible), they can swap identities (or simply scatter or bounce off each other). The IVBs essentially provide a bridge between the virtual particle "sea" of the vacuum and real particles, such that real particles can exchange charges and energies with the unlimited information resources of the "sea", and thus effect their "real world" decays and transformations. (See: The Weak Force "W" Particle as the Bridge Between Symmetric (2-D) and Asymmetric (4-D) Reality
General Principles
The general principle at work in this reaction, which is significant for the origin of matter, information, and the systems they produce, is the interaction of two fields, one symmetric (the color charge of the strong force and quarks - the mass-energy carriers) and one asymmetric (the weak force IVBs and the leptonic field of alternative charge carriers - the information carriers). The action of the asymmetric field is necessary to reveal the information content embedded in both fields. We see the same principle at work in the dimensional conservation domains of light and matter, the intersection of symmetric space with asymmetric time, an intersection which produces gravitation, revealing a specific "location" in the symmetric field of space. "Location" is the fundamental information "bit" in the dimensional realm (as indicated by the character of gravity), just as "identity" is the fundamental information bit in the particle realm (as indicated by the character of the weak force). The information bit "location" (requiring time) is the anchor point of Einstein's "Interval". The asymmetric potential is embedded in the symmetric field from the beginning, as is time in spacetime, "frequency" (time) in light, the information content of the virtual particle "sea" in the vacuum, and the hidden or implicit "identity" charge in particles (which become explicit as neutrinos). Thus the manifest world is a revelation of the information potential and content of the symmetric unmanifest world, as exposed by the action of its own embedded asymmetric energy component or field. By such means is pure energy converted into information.
It is of interest to note that between the metric warpage of gravity and the "bare" or explicit identity charges of the neutrinos, spacetime contains a complete record of the location, mass, and identity of every elementary particle within its conservation domain - and within historic spacetime resides a causal memory of every event. This is the "Akashic Record" of occult tradition, and the basis for the notion of universal "karma".
Alternative Charge Carriers and Forces
The role of alternative forces and charge carriers is thoroughgoing and absolutely essential to breaking the initial symmetric energy state of the universe, which begins with light, the spacetime metric, and elementary particle-antiparticle pairs. Alternative forces and charges are usually local transformations of global parameters. The crucial role of embedded alternative forces has long been recognized in philosophical systems of thought. In religious terms and symbolism, the "devil" is necessary so that God may manifest; the role of "evil" in the world is to energize the good. The "soul" is an alternative form of personal identity, the physical realm is an alternative form of the spiritual realm, etc. Holographic models of reality are modern extensions of these ideas.
1) Mass is an alternative (local) form of electromagnetic energy which allows the conservation of energy in the time dimension and the transformation of light to particles.2) Charge is an alternative (local) form of symmetry which allows the conservation of symmetry in the time dimension and the transformation of light to "information".3) Entropy is an alternative (local) form of energy which allows the transformation of light to space and to "work".4) Time is an alternative (local) form of space and entropy which allows the transformation of the absolute motion of massless light to the relative motion of massless particles, and the transformation of acausal space to causal history (historic spacetime). The causal integrity of history is an alternative form of the energetic unity of space.5) Gravity is an alternative (local) form of the spacetime metric which allows the transformation of space and the spatial entropy drive of free energy (the intrinsic motion of light), to history and the historical entropy drive of bound energy (the intrinsic motion of time), and vice versa. Gravity converts a global, spatial metric to a local, historical metric, so that (by means of the time dimension so created) energy may be conserved in the relative realm of matter no less than in the absolute realm of light. Gravity creates time by the annihilation of space and the extraction of a metrically equivalent temporal residue. Gravity ultimately restores metric symmetry via the conversion of mass to light - as in the stars and Hawking's "quantum radiance" of black holes. 6) Magnetism is an alternative form of electricity conserving the invariance of electric charge and allowing its relative motion.7) Leptoquarks are an alternative form of leptons which allow the transformation of elementary leptonic particles into sub-elementary quarks.8) Gluons are an alternative form of light which allow the transformation of whole leptonic quantum charge units into fractional quark charge units.9) IVBs are alternative forms of force unity symmetry states which allow the transformation of virtual particles into real particles (and vice versa) and the creation and destruction of elementary particles.10) Leptons, neutrinos, and mesons are alternative charge carriers (for electric charge, identity charge, and quark partial charges) which allow the transformation of virtual baryons, quarks, and leptons into "real" (temporal) atomic matter.
Links:
Symmetry Principles of the Unified Field Theory: Part 1Symmetry Principles of the Unified Field Theory: Part 2Identity Charge and the Weak ForceThe System of MatterThe Weak Force "W" Particle as the Bridge Between Symmetric (2-D) and Asymmetric (4-D) RealityIntroduction to the Weak Force: Section IVThe Particle TableThe Hourglass DiagramsThe Leptoquark DiagramThe "W" Particle and the Weak Force Mechanism (pdf format)The "W" Particle and the Weak Force Mechanism (html format)The Information Ladder (Table)The Information Pathway (Text)Chardin: Prophet of the Information AgeHierarchy of Natural Organization (Table)"Hourglass" DiagramsEntropy, Gravitation, and Thermodynamics (text)The Creation of Time from SpaceGeneral Systems and the Unified Field Theory: part 1 General Systems and the Unified Field Theory: part 2The "Tetrahedron Model" vs the "Standard Model" of Physics: A Comparison
The "Tetrahedron Model" in the Context of "Global and Local Gauge Symmetries":
Global-Local Gauge Symmetries and the "Tetrahedron Model"Global-Local Gauge Symmetries in GravitationGlobal-Local Gauge Symmetries of the Weak ForceGlobal-Local Gauge Symmetries: Material Effects of Local Gauge Symmetries
The Higgs Boson Papers:
Introduction to the Higgs Boson PapersThe "Higgs" Boson vs the Weak Force IVBs: Part IThe "Higgs" Boson vs the Weak Force IVBs: Part II and IIIThe Higgs Boson and the Evolutionary Eras of the CosmosThe Higgs Boson and the Spacetime Metric
home page
Literature cited:
H. D. Politzer. 1973. Phys. Rev. Lett. 30: 1346.D. J. Gross and F. Wilczek. 1973. Ultraviolet Behavior of Non-Abelian Gauge Theories. Phys. Rev. Lett. 30: 1343.Cronin, J. W. 1981. CP Symmetry Violation - the Search for its Origin. Science 212: 1221.Gross, Politzer, Wilczek: Science: 15 October 2004 vol. 306 page 400: "Laurels to Three Who Tamed Equations of Quark Theory."
Suggested Additional Reading:
"The Origin of Matter". James M. Cline, American Scientist, March-April 2004, Vol. 92, No. 2, Pages 148 - 157.

Life After Death

Is There Life After Death? (revised June, 2008)John A. Gowan
Intuitive Section
Is there life after death? Do we have an immortal soul? Ever since childhood I have pondered these questions. My intuitive response has not changed in over sixty years - yes, to both questions.
Even as a child, my reaction to the question of "life after death" was to ask if there was life before birth - the symmetry of the notion still appeals to me. If one, why not the other? I still feel that it makes as much sense to worry about the one case as the other. In any event, it is life we need to concern ourselves with, not death; we have some control over life, but none at all over death.
This past July (2007) I turned 70, so the question nags at me more urgently than in my youth, and I have occasionally looked around for reassurance or rational proof of "life everlasting" in one form or another (I have no orthodox religious belief, although I obviously feel a strong spiritual connection with the universe). My work in physics and General Systems has turned up some interesting affirmative suggestions and hints, although I can't say they rise to the level of proof. I will discuss these below in the "rational section". Here I only consider my intuitive musings.
Instinctively, my basic reaction is - why worry? What will happen will happen and I can do nothing about it. The Universe will do with me what it will. But since the Universe has already shown its tendency in this regard, in that it has, without my asking, without my worry, without my foreknowledge or consent, given me this present life and experience, the odds are, it seems to me, overwhelmingly favorable that the Universe will do again that which it has done before. That this life should be a single experience seems to me about as likely as the chance that we are the only life form in the Cosmos. It has become apparent that life is something that the Universe itself brings forth as an emergent property of the information content of its atomic, dimensional, and energetic structure, and the more we learn about the Universe, the more it seems certain that it brings forth life abundantly.
In other words, the outrageously improbable existence of this present life is the best evidence we have for the next and/or previous life, which by the same argument was and will be not greatly different from this one - although the factor of personal, as well as biological, social, and cosmic evolution must be taken into account. My sense of the situation is this: there is a partially-conserved "I" that is unique to this life experience, and will not be repeated (nevertheless, it will be conserved in historic spacetime, or "karmic" history). But there is another, wholly conserved "I" that is not unique to this life experience, that will have many, perhaps infinitely many, more life experiences. This eternal or conserved "I" does not remember (in human intellectual terms) its individual manifestations; but it is this eternal "I" that grows with each life experience and evolves with the Universe - its "memory" is in evolutionary terms.
The partial "I" is unique to this body, and passes into history (historic conservation) when the body dies. The source of this partial "I", however, is the eternal "I", which is the life spirit of the universe itself, forever seeking to know itself through a suitable physical instrument and organized locus of information. The eternal "I" is the universe. "I" and the universe are one. We share this eternal "I" with all life forms, everywhere in the Cosmos, but the particular physical body in which it manifests imposes a unique experience upon each seemingly separate life experience. Human life is special in that it is the most highly evolved life form (on Earth), and because of our intellectual capacities we are able to participate in and actualize a human version of the creative dynamic of the universe, thus becoming a co-creator or fractal resonance of the creative, living force of the Universe. In this sense of fractal co-creator, humanity is indeed the "image and likeness of God", and we are the life form (on Earth) which is best able to understand the universe (as through philosophy), advance its self-knowledge (as through science), and appreciate its beauty (as through art). But all life forms advance the self-experience of the universe (the most intimate form of self-knowledge), and all are sacred in this respect.
Humanity is unique, however, in its creative capacity; humankind is the fractal iteration of the universal life force, a resonant form that completes the evolutionary purpose and cycle of the biological information realm. From now on, humanity will be in the divine role of controlling evolution and its own cosmic destiny. Humanity is a mirror, created by the universe, so that it may see itself.
We are the Universe learning about itself through the life experience, and evolving as it does so; this self-exploration will never cease, because the Cosmos' potential for growth, evolution, and self-experience will never be exhausted.
And where and when does this next life occur? We can't know and it doesn't matter. Where and when did our previous life occur? We can't know and it doesn't matter. It my be elsewhere (and elsewhen) in this Universe, it may be elsewhere (and elsewhen) in the Multiverse. It simply happens, just as this life simply happened, because self-knowledge through life is an evolutionary purpose of the Universe/Multiverse.
We are the eyes and ears, the emotions and intelligence of the Cosmos, the only way it has of experiencing itself, of knowing itself, of enjoying and appreciating itself. Through us the Universe experiences love and beauty and new forms of creativity - through us the Universe writes symphonies, enjoys sunsets, builds rocket ships, experiences love, and creates more life. Humans are fractal iterations of the Cosmos' living, creative power. The Universe explores its creative potential through life and through us, and this is why it continues to bring forth life with ever greater powers of intelligence, creative capacity, perceptual acuity, and aesthetic refinement - the better to know itself. "Universe know thyself!" In this sense the Universe is a narcissist. This is the real source of the notion that "God is Love": the Universe loves itself. And this suggests to me that whatever part of us may survive from one life experience to the next, the part that the Universe may wish to salvage for its evolutionary journey of self-knowledge and discovery, is the part of us that loves and celebrates life and the Cosmos in some form - whether as an artist, scientist, philosopher, athlete, or lover. It is simply inconceivable that my life experience should be wasted on me alone - completely obliterated and rendered meaningless by death - without somehow serving the larger evolutionary purpose of the Cosmos. And the best way to do this is by this life experience informing my (or the) next life experience - if only by enriching the self-knowledge of the universe.
Rational Section
The "Afterlife Tetrahedron" is the perhaps the best "rational" model bearing on this issue that our General Systems work has produced. In the model, we see that the "Biophysical face", which corresponds to the biological realm of the "Fractal Hierarchy" or "Information Ladder", does not explicitly contain the Conservation pole of the model, and indeed is the only face which does not. (See the "Tetrahedron Faces" model here.) It is just this lack which identifies this face as the biological face, as we associate this lacunae with death, a phenomenon peculiar to the biological realm. We note, however, that the Conservation pole of the model is explicitly connected to all three poles of the biological face. The Biological Realm is therefore completely embedded in the conservation matrix of the larger structure, but these connections are implicit rather than explicit. The model shows three conservation connections; I will examine each in turn below. (Readers should print out and refer to the "Afterlife Tetrahedron" diagram in what follows.)
1) The Conservation connection to the Entropy pole: this connection is through space and time, especially the gravitational conversion of space to time. The dimensions of spacetime are conservation domains created by the entropy drives of free and bound energy - the intrinsic motions of light and time. Time's intrinsic motion creates history and historic spacetime, the conservation domain of Information and matter's "causal matrix" ("Karma"). (See: "Spatial vs Temporal Entropy".) All actions and events are permanently recorded in historic spacetime. Historic spacetime is what we see when we look out in space to the distant galaxies. We actually can see only a tiny fraction of historic spacetime; most of it, including all of our own history, is hidden from our view. It is nevertheless perfectly real and the continued reality of yesterday is absolutely necessary to sustain the reality of today. All earlier cultures have understood this, as is especially evident in the practice of "ancestor worship". We are all immortal in History. Memory is one way in which we experience the reality of this temporal connection; another is the celebrated notion of "Karma". Light is connected by space; matter is connected by time; all are connected by gravity. Light is non-local, atemporal, and acausal; matter is local, temporal, and causal.
Matter is only tangentially linked to historic spacetime, the conservation domain of Information, "Karma", and matter's "Causal Matrix". We live only in the ever-moving present, not in the historic past, which continually expands "behind" us. By contrast, light fully occupies its conservation domain (space), and expands and cools as space expands and cools - light is inseparable from its entropy drive (intrinsic motion c) and its dimensional conservation domain (space) which that entropy drive creates. Conversely, it is matter's time dimension which moves and not matter itself. Matter is separate from its historic conservation domain, and does not expand or age with the expansion and aging of historic spacetime. "Diamonds are forever" - atoms simply do not grow old. (Biological aging and decay is a "systems effect" necessitated by evolution, genetically controlled.) (See: "The Time Train".)
The separation of matter from its entropy drive (the intrinsic motion of time), and the conservation domain created by that drive (history), is necessary for several good reasons, among them: 1) the equilibration of the entropy drive of bound energy with the entropy drive of free energy ("velocities" c and T) - the intrinsic motion of time is the metric equivalent of the intrinsic motion of light; 2) the isolation of matter's quantum unit symmetry debts (charges) from the attenuating effects of entropy (note in this regard that light itself bears no charges of any kind). The metric relation between light, space, and time is gauged by c (the electromagnetic constant); the energetic relation between the spatial and temporal entropy drives (velocity c vs velocity T) is gauged by G (the gravitational constant). (See: "Entropy, Gravity, and Thermodynamics".)
The separation of matter from its historic conservation domain is the chief source of humanity's "angst" regarding our conserved status in the Cosmos. This separation, however, is actually illusory. We are very much a part of historic spacetime, but we are situated on the leading edge of its expanding domain, tangentially connected to the remainder of history by the single point contact of the "present moment". (See: "A Spacetime Map of the Universe".) The tangential "point" connection between matter and historic spacetime is why gravity is so weak. Gravity creates matter's time dimension (by the annihilation of space), but it only creates enough time to provide an entropy drive for the "point" connection to history of matter's "present moment". (See: "The Half-Life of Proton Decay and the 'Heat Death' of the Cosmos".)
2) The Conservation connection to the Symmetry pole. This is the source of information in its most basic form as the charges of the fermions, the quarks and leptons which comprise matter. (See: "The Particle Table".) Charge conservation is information's most fundamental conservation mode. Charge conservation is a temporal form of symmetry conservation, somewhat as history is a temporal form of information conservation. However, the expansion of history dilutes the causal connections of its information content via ever-branching causal networks, but quantized charges, which exist only in the present moment, are not subject to historical forces of entropic enervation, as noted above.
The charge of most interest for present purposes is the "identity" charge of the weak force, carried in explicit form by the neutrino, and in implicit form by the massive leptons (and perhaps the baryons). Identity charge is related to the elementary particles in exactly the same way as our common notion of the relationship of the soul to the body. No elementary particle (lepton) can enter or leave the manifest Universe without its accompanying neutrino or identity charge, in very much the same way as we think of the soul entering the body at birth and leaving it at death. The identity charge is the basic information bit that makes possible the birth of matter into the Universe. The "Big Bang" is essentially an explosion of energy and Identity, creating the manifest Universe. Our notion of the human soul is therefore one way in which we apprehend this fundamental physical conservation connection, but another is our experience of "beauty" - which is the Symmetry conservation principle emergently expressed in biology and the Information realm. See: "Identity Charge and the Weak Force" and "The Weak Force as a Bridge Between 2-D and 4-D Reality".
3) The conservation connection to the Causality pole: this is the raw energy connection between light and matter, in which the free energy of light is transformed to the bound energy of matter in quantitative accordance with Einstein's famous equation E = mcc. Matter is essentially an asymmetric form of light, one-half of light's particle-antiparticle form. We can think of matter as an asymmetric form of light's energy transformed to rest. The charges of matter are the symmetry debts of light. See: "Symmetry Principles of the Unified Field Theory".
Gravity, time, and matter constitute our most direct experience of the raw energy conservation connection. Gravitation directly connects us to the rest of the Cosmos in proportion to our mass or raw energy content. Gravity, like Identity charge, is also a "hidden" connection in that its force is so weak we are only aware of it in the vicinity of very large objects - such as the Earth. But gravity is nevertheless a powerful conservation force, not only creating matter's time dimension via the annihilation of space, but also returning bound energy to its original symmetric form of light - as in the activity of our Sun. The gravitational conversion of matter to light goes to completion in Hawking's "Quantum Radiance" of black holes. See: "Gravity, Entropy, and Thermodynamics".
A conservation "subroutine" which is peculiar to biology is genetic reproduction and the conservation of genes (genetic information) through successive generations. Other conservation modes in the human sector of the biological realm and Information Pathway include memory, language, writing, and various technical and social mechanisms which specifically address the conservation of information though our generations: schools, books, libraries, etc. Besides gravity, our spiritual awareness (socially expressed as religion) is the "still small voice" which tells us of our conserved cosmic connection. "Spiritual awareness" also resides in our natural experience of the overwhelming beauty, majesty, immensity, mystery, and power of the Universe. It is also likely that the conservation of light's connectivity and unity are corollaries of the larger conservation principle of Symmetry (as formalized in "Noether's Theorem").
Hence the evidence for conservation is there if we choose to look for it. We see it in memory, historic spacetime, and "Karma"; in charge conservation, the phenomenon of beauty, and the notion of personal identity and the soul; and in gravitation and our spiritual awareness of personal connection with the Universe. Finally, we see it in the continuity of our genetic heritage through the eons of time, and in the evolutionary progress of the Universe toward self-knowledge, discovery, and the exploration of its creative potential, even as it returns inexorably to the original perfection of light from which it was born.
Our Universe of light, spacetime, and matter is the conservation domain of electromagnetic energy. We are part of the Universe, part of its evolutionary adventure of self-discovery. We can not escape the universal principle of Conservation, even if we wanted to. Is there life after death? We should ask instead: is there a Universe after our death? Of course there is. And we will continue to be part of it, just as we have always been part of it. (See: "A General Systems Approach to the Unified Field Theory".)
For a scholarly and thorough treatment of the entire metaphysical realm, including issues discussed above, see my late father's book "Trance, Art, Creativity" on his memorial website.
LinksSpacetime Map DiagramSpacetime Map TextA General Systems Approach to the Unified Field Theory: Part 1A General Systems Approach to the Unified Field Theory: Part 2"The Information Pathway" (text)"The Information Ladder" (table)Chardin: Prophet of the Information AgeThe Half-Life of Proton Decay and the 'Heat Death' of the CosmosIntroduction to General SystemsSpatial vs Temporal EntropyThe Time TrainThe Particle TableThe "Identity" Charge of the Weak ForceThe Weak Force IVBs as a Bridge Between 2-D Virtual Reality and 4-D Temporal RealityGravity, Entropy, and ThermodynamicsThe Gravitational Conversion of Space to Time
Papers on The Fractal Organization of Nature
The Microphysical RealmThe Biophysical RealmThe Astrophysical RealmThe Metaphysical Realm - Intuitive SectionThe Metaphysical Realm - Rational SectionThe Fractal Organization of Nature - SynopsisNature's Fractal PathwayThe Human ConnectionTable of Natural OrganizationHuman Life Stages 4x4 TableThe "Afterlife" TetrahedronThe Faces of the Tetrahedron Model: An Analysis (diagram)