There is an immediate cataclysm that could be coming towards us at the speed of light: cosmologists call it the “big slurp” and it could happen now. Until then, “hidden cosmic realities” protect us.
The distant future of the Universe has always been the subject of intense debate among cosmology gurus.
Some theories suggest that the Universe could end in one of three ways: collapsing under its own weight (the big crisis), expanding indefinitely until it reaches a freezing void (the big freeze), or being torn apart by a mysterious energy (the big tear).
However, there is a more immediate potential threat known as “big slurp”.
The “big slurp” describes a catastrophic scenario triggered by a quantum fluctuation that creates a devastating bubble – capable of destroying, at the speed of light, everything that comes in its way.
One breath and it’s all over
John Ellis, from King’s College London, explained to New Scientist that the “big slurp” can occur at any time, even at this precise moment.
This scenario suggests that our mere existence may be due to some kind of “exotic physics” that protects us.
The Higgs field, associated with the Higgs boson and responsible for giving mass to elementary particles, plays a central role in this scenario. It turned out that the Higgs field is not stable, being in a condition known as metastable. This instability means that the field may eventually reach a lowest energy statetriggering a catastrophic phase transition.
A phase transition in the Higgs field is comparable to the boiling process of water, in which water forms and expands. gas bubbles. In the case of the Universe, these destructive bubbles could redefine the laws of physics within them and expand at the speed of light – capable of putting an end to everything.
The appearance of these bubbles is random and cannot be predicted accurately – however, we can estimate probabilities.
Furthermore, the stability of the Higgs field is influenced by other particles: bosons tend to stabilize the field, while férmionslike the quarksincrease the risk of a phase transition.
Recent investigations indicate that the quark top – the heaviest particle known – plays a significant role in field instability.
Particle measurements at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), detailed by New Scientist, point to the metastability of the Higgs field.
This observation reinforces the idea that the Universe is doomed, although the exact moment of the “big coup” remains uncertainwhich could be billions of years from now, like next week, like tomorrow, like now.
Decisive role of black holes
Black holes, especially smaller and older primordial black holes could play a crucial role in this process, as they have a more intense curvature of space-time, which can induce a phase transition in the Higgs field. As these black holes evaporatethe hypotheses of a catastrophic phase transition increase.
As New Scientist writes, right now, research into quantum gravity is, above all, trying to understand how gravity and the Higgs field interact, which could provide crucial clues about the stability of the Universe.
