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It is tempting to say that this rules out standard model physics in this region but I think it is too soon to draw such a conclusion. It may be that there is a SM Higgs boson at say 140 GeV but the resolution is not sufficiently good to get a clean signal there, or more data may see the line fluctuate down to the no signal level. It is important to remember that we are still at the stage where just a few signal events have a big effect on the curve. More detail will emerge with more data. Furthermore, the plot above is only an approximation that does not properly take into account all uncertainties and correlations. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/246
Did the Higgs Signal Fade? & the Best Higgs Plots Revealed (by Philip E. Gibbs): Abstract: The CMS excess did not fade at all, the difference was due to a change in the analysis from Cut-based to MVA-based for the dominant WW channel. The ATLAS combinations when reconstructed consistently only show a small decrease in the excesses. Not the large decrease advertised. Higgs boson hints are still alive. What is particularly interesting now is the bump at 140 GeV. Some people said that this excess came mostly from the WW channel, yet when the WW channel is removed the bump is still there with nearly 2-sigma significance. The two bumps peaking at 118 GeV and 128 GeV are also the right size for a Higgs signal but error bands are still too big. Any of these bumps could be statistical fluctuations but it is very unlikely that they all are. With current data available in the high-resolution channels it is not yet possible to draw robust conclusions, but I think I have demonstrated that this will be the best way to find the Higgs with future data. I hope the experimenters will take note and produce similar plots from the official data. Updated results with 2.5/fb could appear within weeks and we will see where the three candidate bumps are heading. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/247
New Higgs Combos from ATLAS and CMS (by Philip E. Gibbs): Abstract: As we wait for the Lepton-Photon conference to begin, ATLAS have released some new Higgs combination plots in a conference note. These have added 2.3/fb in the H->ZZ->4l channel and 1.7/fb in the H->WW->llνν channels. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/244
Higgs Excluded from 130 GeV to 480 GeV (by Philip E. Gibbs): Abstract: There are a few interesting workshops and conferences on today that are presenting results from LHC and Tevatron. In particular the “Implications of LHC results for TeV-scale physics” meeting at CERN all this week is the most likely place to look for new results. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/245
Did the Buddha Believe in God? (by Nadeem Haque): Abstract: It is argued that Buddha, contrary to being an atheist or a person who never answered or avoided answering the question of God’s existence, as some of the present day Buddhist sects and most Western and Eastern scholars portray, also believed in One God. http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/article/view/145
Meaningless or Purposeful? (by Nadeem Haque, Mehran Banaei): Abstract: We reflect as to whether there is a purpose behind the Big Bang, and ask such questions as: what role are we to play, if any, in the realm that has evolved afterwards? Did nature evolve from the Big Bang merely for subservience to Man? http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/article/view/146
The Magic of Existence (by Nadeem Haque): Abstract: A collection of my poems expresses the “magic of existence”. http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/article/view/147
Prophet Abraham and the Causal Loop: A New Perspective on a Landmark Historical Event & Its Universal Implications (by Nadeem Haque): Abstract: In this article, we shall discuss causal loop (FPCL) which is a concept that is both fascinating and complex. Here, we can only scratch the surface of it. However, it shows us that our understanding of space and time and the human mind will continue to advance, where more light will be shed, if only we were to think logically and objectively. http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/article/view/141
Concise Proofs of God & Consciousness (by Zeshan Shahbaz): Abstract: In this article, we shall provide concise proofs of God and Consciousness. It is logically concluded that for any thing to 'be' is preceded by its cause. It is further concluded that there is one, limitless, eternal, incomparable, conscious Mover to the universe. http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/article/view/142
Bridge between Science & Religion (by Nadeem Haque, Mehran Banaei): Abstract: Taking the route of intelligence, rather than that of chance, it is suggested that Qur’an can be used as a guide and motivator to dissolve the artificial boundary between the sacred and the profane, science and divinity, through a natural rapprochement based on the correlation between causality in nature and pristine revelation. Inevitably, such a rapprochement would further set the stage for transforming human thought towards a unitary understanding of the whole purpose of creation and man’s role within the vastness of cosmic order. In fact, anyone imbued with such an outlook would not be searching for a pristine revelation to act as a bridge between science and religion. That which is one, needs no bridge. Indeed, in this vein of reality, it can certainly be proclaimed that science is truly religion and religion truly science. http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/article/view/143
Introducing the Virtual Reality Conjecture (by Brian Whitworth): Abstract: We take our world to be an objective reality, but is it? The assumption that the physical world exists in and of itself has struggled to assimilate the findings of modern physics for some time now. For example, an objective space and time would just "be", but in relativity, space contracts and time dilates. Likewise objective "things" should just inherently exist, but the entities of quantum theory are probability of existence smears, that spread, tunnel, superpose and entangle in physically impossible ways. Cosmology even tells us that our entire physical universe just "popped up", from nowhere, about 14 billion years ago. This is not how an objectively real world should behave! Yet traditional alternatives don't work much better. That the world is just an illusion of the mind doesn't explain its consistent realism and Descartes dualism, that another reality beyond the physical exists, just doubles the existential problem. It is time to consider an option we might normally dismiss out of hand. This essay explores the virtual reality conjecture, that the physical world is the digital output of non-physical quantum processing. It finds it neither illogical, nor unscientific, nor incompatible with current physics. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/181
Table of Contents http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/issue/view/25
Articles
Entheogens, the Conscious Brain and Existential Reality: Part 1 (by Chris King)
Entheogens, the Conscious Brain and Existential Reality: Part 2 (by Chris King)
Entheogens, the Conscious Brain and Existential Reality: Part 3 (by Chris King)
Entheogens, the Conscious Brain and Existential Reality: Part 4 (by Chris King)
Remote Mental Interactions: A Review of Theoretical Modeling of Psychophysical Anomalies Part 1 (by Iona Miller).
Remote Mental Interactions: A Review of Theoretical Modeling of Psychophysical Anomalies Part 2 (by Iona Miller).
Remote Mental Interactions: A Review of Theoretical Modeling of Psychophysical Anomalies Part 3 (by Iona Miller).
Remote Mental Interactions: A Review of Theoretical Modeling of Psychophysical Anomalies Part 4 (by Iona Miller).
Central to this viewpoint is 1) a non-materialism which indicates that the ultimate process of reality is of the nature of mind; 2) the assertion that the ultimate nature of reality lies between the extremes of ‘existence’ and ‘non-existence’, ‘eternalism’ and ‘nihilism’; 3) the assertion that the epiontic mechanism operates as ‘kamma’, or ‘karma’, a central mechanism for the functioning of conditioned samsaric (cycle of dissatisfactory lives) reality. On the basis of these fundamental insights the doctrines of ‘rebirth’ and ‘dependent origination’ are shown to be crucial metaphysical components of the overall early Buddhist worldview as taught by the Buddha. These doctrines are also shown to be consistent with modern quantum theory. On the basis of this investigation recent claims that the 3-lifetimes model of dependent origination is mistaken are shown to be desperately misleading. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/177
The Quantum Truth of the Buddhist Metaphysics of the ‘Two Truths’ or ‘Two Realities’ (by Graham P. Smetham): Abstract: According to the ‘Buddhist’ writer Stephen Batchelor the core Buddhist doctrine of the ‘two truths’ or ‘two realities’ is a major mistake on the part of Buddhist practitioners and philosophers throughout the ages. Although this doctrine has been central to Buddhist thinking since the time of the Buddha, Batchelor says that it is a serious mistake, and is completely unscientific. This article show that it is Batchelor who is desperately mistaken because modern quantum theory has validated the metaphysical claim that the ‘classical’ or ‘conventional’ world is an illusion which is derived from the deeper quantum realm. Thus the division into the ‘classical’ realm and the ‘quantum’ realm maps onto the Buddhist distinction between the ‘conventional’ mode of reality and the ‘ultimate’ mode of reality. Far from Buddhist philosophy being ‘unscientific’, it is Batchelor who displays ignorance of modern science. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/178
In this article I examine Ellis’s notion of the impossibility of metaphysics in the light of both philosophical considerations and the implications of the quantum evidence. The next article "Taking the‘Meta’ Out of Physics" is Ellis’s response to my criticisms of his work. I leave it to readers to come to conclusions without further comment from me. It is my hope that there will be feedback concerning the issues raised as I am personally convinced that Ellis’s position is untenable but am curious to know whether my viewpoint is widely held. Certainly the last two articles from James Kowall, ‘What is Reality in a Holographic World?’, and Brian Whitworth, ‘Introducing The Virtual Reality Conjecture’, seem to support my position. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/175
The Matter of Mindnature: Bell’s Theorem Tolls for Dogmatic ‘Middle Way’ Scepticism and Rings Out for ‘Experimental Metaphysics’ and ‘Quantum Mindnature’ (by Graham P. Smetham): Abstract: In recent years there has developed a movement in the West which seeks to convince people that the original teachings of the Buddha were far more mundane than his later followers would have us believe. An extreme recent example of this is the book The Trouble with Buddhism in which Dr. Robert Ellis claims that every Buddhist who has ever lived has been ‘scandalously” confused about the central doctrines of Buddhism, especially the ‘Middle Way’ philosophy, which is a central teaching of all Buddhist schools. He also claims that if one takes Humean scepticism ‘seriously’, as he thinks one should do, it follows that it is impossible to know anything with any certainty. Metaphysics therefore become a ‘foolish’ dream. In fact according to Ellis it is “foolish” to think that quantum physics supplies “evidence about the universe itself.” This article considers Ellis’s claims regarding metaphysics and physics in detail, particularly focusing on the implications of the quantum violation of Bell’s theorem, in order to show that we must be sceptical of extreme scepticism. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/176
Taking the ‘Meta’ out of Physics: A response to Graham Smetham’s ‘The Matter of Mindnature’ (by Robert M. Ellis): Abstract: In this response to Graham Smetham’s criticisms, I defend the approach of metaphysical agnosticism on philosophical grounds. Pyrrhonian (agnostic) sceptical approaches are distinguished from Academic ones and shown not to be contradictory provided one does not begin with unnecessary metaphysical assumptions. The burden of proof needs to be put on those who make metaphysical claims rather than those who stick to experience as a point of reference, and falsification involves a provisional, not an absolute, process of elimination of theories that do not fit the evidence. Smetham’s appeals to certain results from quantum physics as exceptional are shown to be unacceptable on the grounds that no scientific observation can confirm metaphysical claims that lie beyond their scope. A wider psychological, moral and linguistic context is given for the argument that we should avoid the adoption of a metaphysical framework of understanding. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/179
Is the Master Formula for the U-matrix Finally Found? (by Matti Pitkänen): Abstract: In zero energy ontology U-matrix replaces S-matrix as the fundamental object characterizing the predictions of the theory. U-matrix is defined between zero energy states and its orthogonal rows define what I call M-matrices, which are analogous to thermal S-matrices of thermal QFTs. M-matrix defines the time-like entanglement coefficients between positive and negative energy parts of the zero energy state. M-matrices identifiable as hermitian square roots of density matrices. In this article it is shown that M-matrices form in a natural manner a generalization of Kac-Moody type algebra acting as symmetries of M-matrices and U-matrix and that the space of zero energy states has therefore Lie algebra structure so that quantum states act as their own symmetries. The generators of this algebra are multilocal with respect to partonic 2-surfaces just as Yangian algebras are multilocal with respect to points of Minkowski space and therefore define generalization of the Yangian algebra appearing in the Grassmannian twijstor approach to N = 4 SUSY. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/227
Is there a Scaled up Variant of Hadron Physics at 0.5 TeV Energy (by Matti Pitkänen): Abstract: p-Adic length scale hypothesis strongly suggests a fractal hierarchy of copies of hadron physics labelled by Mersenne primes. M89 hadron physics whose mass scales relates by a factor 512 to that of ordinary M107hadron physics was predicted already for 15 years ago but only now the TeV energy region has been reached at LHC making possible to test the prediction. Pions of any hadron physics are produced copiously in hadronic reactions and their detection is the most probable manner how the new hadron physics will be discovered if Nature has realized them. Neutral pions produce monochromatic gamma pairs whereas heavy charged pions decay to quark pair or intermediate gauge boson and quark pair. The first evidence -or should we say indication- for the existence of M89 hadron physics has now emerged from CDF which for more than two years ago provided evidence also for the colored excitations of tau lepton and for leptohadron physics. What CDF has observed is evidence for the production of quark antiquark pairs in association with W bosons and the following arguments demonstrate that the interpretation in terms of M89 hadron physics might make sense. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/229
Specifically, within the context of the relational-matrix model, we will account for the following aspects of physical reality: (1) the relationship between space and time, including the basis of temporal relativity, as well as the precise nature of time as a function of the dynamic aspect of the spatial structure; (2) the basis of the speed-of-light constant, including why the frequency and wavelength of electromagnetic radiation are inversely related as a function of that constant; (3) the basis of Planck’s constant, including why the energy associated with electromagnetic radiation exists in discrete amounts, or quanta; (4) the nature of gravitation, including why matter and gravitation are always associated and why gravitation is universally attractive; (5) the equivalence of the gravitational and inertial forces; (6) the relationship between electromagnetic radiation and gravitation; and (7) the nature of energy. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/225
Paradigm Shift in Science (by James Kowall): Abstract: Recent developments in theoretical physics, which include attempts to unify the laws of the universe, as in string theory, and attempts to explain the origin of the universe, as in inflationary cosmology, are interpreted in terms of the theater of consciousness mental model of the world. This scientific paradigm dates back to ideas that Plato first discussed in the Allegory of the Cave, and is consistent with the holographic principle of quantum gravity, the many world interpretation of quantum theory and the Gödel incompleteness theorems. This mental model of the world leads to a natural theory of the mind. http://prespacetime.com/index.php/pst/article/view/228