Expert: James Gort - 4/12/2010

Question
I'm not sure if this is the correct field, but are there any theories as to how matter first existed? I have never heard any explanation that wasn't a creationist one.

Answer
Hello Chris,

The best (and really only) explanation for the creation of matter (the big bang) that I've read was on page 1275 of Carroll and Ostlie, Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd ed. They said that 13.7 billion years ago, the universe borrowed energy from the vacuum to create matter and antimatter in nearly equal numbers.  Nearly all annihilated, producing photons, except that one part per billion was left to produce matter...

There is no explanation on how, or why, the universe "borrowed energy from the vacuum".  If it really was just borrowing, it could have been a quantum fluctuation, which means we "owe" the vacuum, and matter will ultimately be returned to it.

But it's all conjecture.  At this point, physics, philosophy, and theology seem to merge.

Hope that helps.

Prof. James Gort