Mirror matter

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In physics, mirror matter, also called shadow matter or Alice matter, is a hypothetical counterpart to ordinary matter. Modern physics deals with three basic types of spatial symmetry: reflection, rotation and translation. The known elementary particles respect rotation and translation symmetry but do not respect mirror reflection symmetry (also called P-symmetry or parity). Of the four fundamental interactions electromagnetism, the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravity, only the weak interaction breaks parity.

Parity violation in weak interactions was first postulated by Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang [1] in 1956 as a solution to the τ-θ puzzle. They suggested a number of experiments to test if the weak interaction is invariant under parity. These experiments were performed half a year later and they confirmed that the weak interaction violates parity.[2] [3] [4]

Despite the fact that the weak interaction violates parity, it turns out that mirror reflection symmetry can still exist, but only if every particle has a mirror partner.[1][5][6] Mirror particles interact amongst themselves in the same way as ordinary particles, except where ordinary particles have left-handed interactions, mirror particles have right-handed interactions. In this way, it turns out that mirror reflection symmetry can exist as an exact symmetry of nature, provided that a "mirror" particles exists for every ordinary particle. Parity can also be spontaneously broken depending on the Higgs potential. [7][8] While in the case of unbroken parity symmetry the masses of particles are the same as their mirror partners, in case of broken parity symmetry the mirror partners are heavier.

Mirror matter, if it exists, would have to be very weakly interacting with ordinary matter. This is because the forces between mirror particles are mediated by mirror bosons. With the exception of the graviton, none of the known bosons can be identical to their mirror partners. The only way mirror matter can interact with ordinary matter via forces other than gravity is via so-called kinetic mixing of mirror bosons with ordinary bosons or via the exchange of as of yet unknown particles which carry both ordinary and mirror charges. These interactions can only be very weak. Mirror particles have therefore been suggested as candidates for the inferred dark matter in the universe.[9][10][11][12][13]

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[edit] Observational effects of mirror matter

If mirror matter is present in the universe with sufficient abundance then its gravitional effects can be detected. Because mirror matter is analogous to ordinary matter, it is then to be expected that a fraction of the mirror matter exists in the form of mirror galaxies, mirror stars, mirror planets etc. These objects can be detected using gravitational lensing. One would also expect that some fraction of stars have mirror objects as their companion. In such cases one should be able to detect periodic Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the star.[12] There are some hints that such effects may already have been observed.[14][15]

What if mirror matter does exist but has (almost) zero abundance? Like magnetic monopoles, mirror matter could have been diluted to unobservably low densities during the inflation epoch. Sheldon Glashow has shown that if at some high energy scale particles exist which interact strongly with both ordinary and mirror particles, radiative corrections will lead to a mixing between photons and mirror photons.[16] This mixing has the effect of giving mirror electric charges a very small ordinary electric charge. Another effect of photon-mirror photon mixing is that it induces oscillations between positronium and mirror positronium. Positronium could then turn into mirror positronium and then decay into mirror photons. An experiment to measure this effect is currently being planned.[17]

If mirror matter does exist in large abundances in the universe and if it interacts with ordinary matter via photon-mirror photon mixing, then this could be detected in dark matter direct detection experiments such as DAMA/NaI[18][19] and in electromagnetic field penetration experiments.[20] There would also be consequences for planetary science.[21][22]

Mirror matter could also be responsible for the GZK puzzle. Topological defects in the mirror sector could produce mirror neutrinos which can oscillate to ordinary neutrinos. [23] Another possible way to evade the GZK bound is via neutron-mirror neutron oscillatons. [24] [25] [26] [27]

[edit] Alternate terminology

The phrase "mirror matter" was also introduced by physicist and author Dr. Robert L. Forward as an alternative term for what is commonly called antimatter, in an attempt to emphasize that antimatter is identical to ordinary matter, except reversed in all possible ways (i.e., CPT). (Forward was apparently not aware of the use of the word "mirror particles" by Russian physicists to mean parity reversed matter that does not interact strongly with "ordinary" matter). This is elucidated in his book Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics[28] (1988), and his editing the small review journal Mirror Matter Newsletter (1986-1990). However, this use of the term "mirror matter" was never widely picked up by others and is not currently in common use.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b T. D. Lee and C. N. Yang, Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions, Phys. Rev. 104, 254–258 (1956) article, Erratum ibid 106, 1371 (1957) Erratum
  2. ^ C. S. Wu, E. Ambler, R. W. Hayward, D. D. Hopes and R. R. Hudson, Experimental test of parity conservation in beta decay, Phys. Rev. 105, 1413 (1957).
  3. ^ R. L. Garwin, L.M. Lederman and M. Weinrich, Observations of the failure of conservation of parity and charge conjugation in meson decays: The magnetic moment of the free muon, Phys. Rev. 105, 1415 (1957).
  4. ^ J. J. Friedman and V. L. Telegdi, Nuclear emulsion evidence for parity nonconservation in the decay chain π + − μ + − e + , Phys. Rev. 105, 1681 (1957).
  5. ^ I. Kobzarev, L. Okun and I. Pomeranchuk, On the possibility of observing mirror particles, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 3, 837 (1966).
  6. ^ M. Pavsic, External Inversion, Internal Inversion, and Reflection Invariance, Int. J. Theor. Phys. 9, 229-244 (1974) preprint.
  7. ^ Z. Berezhiani and R. N. Mohapatra, Reconciling Present Neutrino Puzzles: Sterile Neutrinos as Mirror Neutrinos, Phys. Rev. D 52, 6607-6611 (1995) preprint.
  8. ^ R. Foot, H. Lew and R. R. Volkas, Unbroken versus broken mirror world: a tale of two vacua, JHEP 0007, 032 (2000) preprint.
  9. ^ S. I. Blinnikov and M. Yu. Khlopov, On possible effects of 'mirror' particles, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 36, 472 (1982).
  10. ^ S. I. Blinnikov and M. Yu. Khlopov, Possible astronomical effects of mirror particles, Sov. Astron. 27, 371-375 (1983).
  11. ^ E. W. Kolb, M. Seckel and M. S. Turner, The shadow world of superstring theories, Nature 314, 415-419 (1985).
  12. ^ a b M. Yu. Khlopov, G. M. Beskin, N. E. Bochkarev, L. A. Pushtilnik and S. A. Pushtilnik, observational physics of mirror world, Astron. Zh. Akad. Nauk CCCP 68, 42-57 (1991) preprint.
  13. ^ H. M. Hodges, Mirror baryons as the dark matter, Phys. Rev. D 47, 456-459 (1993) article.
  14. ^ R. Foot, Have mirror stars been observed?, Phys. Lett. B 452, 83-86 (1999) preprint.
  15. ^ R. Foot, Have mirror planets been observed?, Phys. Lett. B 471, 191-194 (1999) preprint.
  16. ^ S. L. Glashow, Positronium versus the mirror universe, Phys. Lett. B 167, 35-36 (1986) article.
  17. ^ A. Badertscher et al., An apparatus to search for mirror dark matter via the invisible decay of orthopositronium in vacuum, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 19, 3833-3848 (2004) preprint.
  18. ^ R. Foot, Implications of the DAMA and CRESST experiments for mirror matter-type dark matter, Phys. Rev. D 69, 036001 (2004) preprint.
  19. ^ R. Foot, Reconciling the positive DAMA annual modulation signal with the negative results of the CDMS II experiment, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 19, 1841-1846 (2004) preprint.
  20. ^ S. Mitra, Detecting dark matter in electromagnetic field penetration experiments, Phys. Rev. D 74, 043532 (2006) preprint.
  21. ^ R. Foot and S. Mitra, Mirror matter in the solar system: New evidence for mirror matter from Eros, Astropart. Phys. 19, 739-753 (2003) preprint.
  22. ^ R. Foot and Z.K. Silagadze, Do mirror planets exist in our solar system? Acta Phys. Polon. B 32, 2271-2278 (2001) preprint.
  23. ^ V. Berezinsky and A. Vilenkin, Ultra high energy neutrinos from hidden-sector topological defects, Phys. Rev. D 62, 083512 (2000) preprint.
  24. ^ Z. Berezhiani and L. Bento, Neutron - Mirror Neutron Oscillations: How Fast Might They Be?, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 081801 (2006) preprint.
  25. ^ Z. Berezhiani and L. Bento, Fast Neutron - Mirror Neutron Oscillation and Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays, Phys. Lett. B 635, 253-259 (2006) preprint.
  26. ^ R. N. Mohapatra, S. Nasri and S. Nussinov, Some Implications of Neutron Mirror Neutron Oscillation, Phys. Lett. B 627, 124-130 (2005) preprint.
  27. ^ Yu. N. Pokotilovski, On the experimental search for neutron -- mirror neutron oscillations, Phys. Lett. B 639, 214-217 (2006) preprint.
  28. ^ R. L. Forward and J. Davis, 'Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics John Wiley & Sons Inc (March 1988); Backinprint.com (2001).

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