The universe is vast and by now most of us have accepted the possibility that there might be other life forms scattered around the cosmos, far from our grasp or understanding. But what if there was a whole another universe next to ours?
Well, according to scientists studying the symmetries of the universe, there might actually be an alternate universe next to ours.
The experts have posed a theory about a potential "anti-universe" right outside of our own, where time runs in reverse. Here's everything we need to know about the science behind this other mystery universe, and why time would run differently there.
What is the anti-universe theory?
Scientists have based the theory of an "anti-universe" on the knowledge of fundamental symmetries in the universe – importantly charge, parity and time – which have been dubbed as the CPT symmetry.
All physical interactions in the universe generally obey these symmetries, and physicists have never found any violations of all three of these laws of nature at the same time.
Researchers have theorised that since the symmetry applies to interactions in the universe, it could apply to the entire universe as well.
In a paper accepted for publication in the journal Annals of Physics, scientists have suggested that the early universe was so small, hot and dense with uniformity that made time look symmetrical going forwards and backwards.
To maintain this symmetry in our universe, it would mean the possibility of a mirror-image of our universe in which time runs backwards.
Why is the anti-universe theory important?
Scientists believe that the existence of an anti-universe could explain dark matter. Currently, there are only three neutrinos (type of subatomic particle) in the universe – all of which are left-spinning.
However, the need for symmetry in a reverse universe would mean the existence of right-spinning neutrinos – which physicists have never detected before – a necessity.
These new kind of neutrinos, if they existed in our universe, would be enough to account for the dark matter that has remained undetected by physicists, according to Live Science.
Is there a way to prove existence of an anti-universe?
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In theory, we would never be able to access the anti-universe as it exists prior to the Big Bang. However, scientists can still test their theory using the mass of neutrinos.
Researchers predict that one of the new kinds of neutrinos should be massless, so if they are ever able to measure the mass of the subatomic particles and find them to have no mass, this could one way to reinforce the anti-universe theory.
Under this theory, scientists operating on the belief that the natural expansion of the universe has not happened. This means that the gravitational waves which flooded our universe due to the expansion will not be found in the alternate universe.
So, when experimenting, if no gravitational waves are found, this could point towards the existence of a reverse universe.
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