String theory developed by demanding consistency with quantum mechanics. In this paper we wish to reverse the reasoning. We pretend open string field theory is a fully consistent definition of the theory - it is at least a self consistent sector. The
n we find in its structure that the rules of quantum mechanics emerge from the non-commutative nature of the basic string joining/splitting interactions, thus deriving rather than assuming the quantum commutation rules among the usual canonical quantum variables for all physical systems derivable from open string field theory. Morally we would apply such an argument to M-theory to cover all physics. If string or M-theory really underlies all physics, it seems that the door has been opened to an understanding of the origins of quantum mechanics.
We develop a new background independent Moyal star formalism in bosonic open string field theory. The new star product is formulated in a half-phase-space, and because phase space is independent of any background fields, the interactions are backgrou
nd independent. In this basis there is a large amount of symmetry, including a supersymmetry OSp(d|2) that acts on matter and ghost degrees of freedom, and simplifies computations. The BRST operator that defines the quadratic kinetic term of string field theory may be regarded as the solution of the equation of motion A*A=0 of a purely cubic background independent string field theory. We find an infinite number of non-perturbative solutions to this equation, and are able to associate them to the BRST operator of conformal field theories on the worldsheet. Thus, the background emerges from a spontaneous-type breaking of a purely cubic highly symmetric theory. The form of the BRST field breaks the symmetry in a tractable way such that the symmetry continues to be useful in practical perturbative computations as an expansion around some background. The new Moyal basis is called the $sigma $-basis, where $sigma$ is the worldsheet parameter of an open string. A vital part of the new star product is a natural and crucially needed mid-point regulator in this continuous basis, so that all computations are finite. The regulator is removed after renormalization and then the theory is finite only in the critical dimension. Boundary conditions for D-branes at the endpoints of the string are naturally introduced and made part of the theory as simple rules in algebraic computations. A byproduct of our approach is an astonishing suggestion of the formalism: the roots of ordinary quantum mechanics may originate in the rules of non-commutative interactions in string theory.
The fundamental string length, which is an essential part of string theory, explicitly breaks scale invariance. However, in field theory we demonstrated recently that the gravitational constant, which is directly related to the string length, can be
promoted to a dynamical field if the standard model coupled to gravity (SM+GR) is lifted to a locally scale (Weyl) invariant theory. The higher gauge symmetry reveals previously unknown field patches whose inclusion turn the classically conformally invariant SM+GR into a geodesically complete theory with new cosmological and possibly further physical consequences. In this paper this concept is extended to string theory by showing how it can be Weyl lifted with a local scale symmetry acting on target space background fields. In this process the string tension (fundamental string length) is promoted to a dynamical field, in agreement with the parallel developments in field theory. We then propose a string theory in a geodesically complete cosmological stringy background which suggests previously unimagined directions in the stringy exploration of the very early universe.
In a recent series of papers, we have shown that theories with scalar fields coupled to gravity (e.g., the standard model) can be lifted to a Weyl-invariant equivalent theory in which it is possible to unambiguously trace the classical cosmological e
volution through the transition from big crunch to big bang. The key was identifying a sufficient number of finite, Weyl-invariant conserved quantities to uniquely match the fundamental cosmological degrees of freedom across the transition. In so doing we had to account for the well-known fact that many Weyl-invariant quantities diverge at the crunch and bang. Recently, some authors rediscovered a few of these divergences and concluded based on their existence alone that the theories cannot be geodesically complete. In this note, we show that this conclusion is invalid. Using conserved quantities we explicitly construct the complete set of geodesics and show that they pass continuously through the big crunch-big bang transition.
In the conventional formalism of physics, with 1-time, systems with different Hamiltonians or Lagrangians have different physical interpretations and are considered to be independent systems unrelated to each other. However, in this paper we construc
t explicitly canonical maps in 1T phase space (including timelike components, specifically the Hamiltonian) to show that it is appropriate to regard various 1T-physics systems, with different Lagrangians or Hamiltonians, as being duals of each other. This concept is similar in spirit to dualities discovered in more complicated examples in field theory or string theory. Our approach makes it evident that such generalized dualities are widespread. This suggests that, as a general phenomenon, there are hidden relations and hidden symmetries that conventional 1T-physics does not capture, implying the existence of a more unified formulation of physics that naturally supplies the hidden information. In fact, we show that 2T-physics in (d+2)-dimensions is the generator of these dualities in 1T-physics in d-dimensions by providing a holographic perspective that unifies all the dual 1T systems into one. The unifying ingredient is a gauge symmetry in phase space. Via such dualities it is then possible to gain new insights toward new physical predictions not suspected before, and suggest new methods of computation that yield results not obtained before. As an illustration, we will provide concrete examples of 1T-systems in classical mechanics that are solved analytically for the first time via our dualities. These dualities in classical mechanics have counterparts in quantum mechanics and field theory, and in some simpler cases they have already been constructed in field theory. We comment on the impact of our approach on the meaning of spacetime and on the development of new computational methods based on dualities.
Recent measurements at the LHC suggest that the current Higgs vacuum could be metastable with a modest barrier (height 10^{10-12}{GeV})^{4}) separating it from a ground state with negative vacuum density of order the Planck scale. We note that metast
ability is problematic for big bang to end one cycle, bounce, and begin the next. In this paper, motivated by the approximate scaling symmetry of the standard model of particle physics and the primordial large-scale structure of the universe, we use our recent formulation of the Weyl-invariant version of the standard model coupled to gravity to track the evolution of the Higgs in a regularly bouncing cosmology. We find a band of solutions in which the Higgs field escapes from the metastable phase during each big crunch, passes through the bang into an expanding phase, and returns to the metastable vacuum, cycle after cycle after cycle. We show that, due to the effect of the Higgs, the infinitely cycling universe is geodesically complete, in contrast to inflation.
We present analytic solutions to a class of cosmological models described by a canonical scalar field minimally coupled to gravity and experiencing self interactions through a hyperbolic potential. Using models and methods inspired by 2T-physics, we
show how analytic solutions can be obtained in flat/open/closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes. Among the analytic solutions, there are many interesting geodesically complete cyclic solutions in which the universe bounces at either zero or finite sizes. When geodesic completeness is imposed, it restricts models and their parameters to a certain parameter subspace, including some quantization conditions on initial conditions in the case of zero-size bounces, but no conditions on initial conditions for the case of finite-size bounces. We will explain the theoretical origin of our model from the point of view of 2T-gravity as well as from the point of view of the colliding branes scenario in the context of M-theory. We will indicate how to associate solutions of the quantum Wheeler-deWitt equation with our classical analytic solutions, mention some physical aspects of the cyclic solutions, and outline future directions.
2T-gravity in d+2 dimensions predicts 1T General Relativity (GR) in d dimensions, augmented with a local scale symmetry known as the Weyl symmetry in 1T field theory. The emerging GR comes with a number of constraints, particularly on scalar fields a
nd their interactions in 1T field theory. These constraints, detailed in this paper, are footprints of 2T-gravity and could be a basis for testing 2T-physics. Some of the conceptually interesting consequences of the accidental Weyl symmetry include that the gravitational constant emerges from vacuum values of the dilaton and other Higgs-type scalars and that it changes after every cosmic phase transition (inflation, grand unification, electroweak phase transition, etc.). We show that this consequential Weyl symmetry in d dimensions originates from coordinate reparametrization, not from scale transformations, in the d+2 spacetime of 2T-gravity. To recognize this structure we develop in detail the geometrical structures, curvatures, symmetries, etc. of the d+2 spacetime which is restricted by a homothety condition derived from the action of 2T-gravity. Observers that live in d dimensions perceive GR and all degrees of freedom as shadows of their counterparts in d+2 dimensions. Kaluza-Klein (KK) type modes are removed by gauge symmetries and constraints that follow from the 2T-gravity action. However some analogs to KK modes, which we call prolongations of the shadows into the higher dimensions, remain but they are completely determined, up to gauge freedom, by the shadows in d dimensions.
According to Two-Time Physics, there is more to space-time than can be garnered with the ordinary formulation of physics. Two-Time Physics has shown that the Standard Model of Particles and Forces is successfully reproduced by a two-time field theory
in 4 space and 2 time dimensions projected as a holographic image on an emergent spacetime in 3+1 dimensions. Among the successes of this approach is the resolution of the strong CP problem of QCD as an outcome of the restrictions imposed by the higher symmetry structures in 4+2 dimensions. In this paper we launch a program to construct the duals of the Standard Model as other holographic images of the same 4+2 dimensional theory on a variety of emergent spacetimes in 3+1 dimensions. These dual field theories are obtained as a family of gauge choices in the master 4+2 field theory. In the present paper we deal with some of the simpler gauge choices which lead to interacting Klein-Gordon field theories for the conformal scalar with a predicted SO(d,2) symmetry in a variety of interesting curved spacetimes in (d-1)+1 dimensions. More challenging and more interesting gauge choices (including some that relate to mass) which are left to future work are also outlined. Through this approach we discover a new realm of previously unexplored dualities and hidden symmetries that exist both in the macroscopic and microscopic worlds, at the classical and quantum levels. Such phenomena predicted by 2T-physics can in principle be confirmed both by theory and experiment. 1T-physics can be used to analyze the predictions but in most instances gives no clue that the predicted phenomena exist in the first place. This point of view suggests a new paradigm for the construction of a fundamental theory that is likely to impact on the quest for unification.
