A question about virtual particles

[Xipe Totec]

So, in the vacuum of space, virtual particles are constantly created and destroyed. They emerge our of the vacuum in particle anti-particle pairs, live briefly, then recombine to annihilate each other. Net energy addition to the universe is zero.

But for the brief moment when the particles exist, they have mass.

Does this mean that the vacuum of space exerts a gravitational force?

[Grown2Hate]

1. As NOTHING more than a novice, I'd offer that the deepest vacuums of space likely

are still affected by any nearby groups of matter (however remote that "nearby" group may be), disrupting space-time just enough and exerting just enough gravity to cause motion of these particles. Again, you're getting this from a total laymen that just loves to watch "The Universe" and other related astronomy shows. :) (Perhaps the Higgs Boson is involved...)

***edited because I posted prematurely***

[tridim]

2. Good question.

Here's one opinion: Virtual gravity.

http://www.bautforum.com/archive/index.php/t-5166.html

vitual particles: Particles that are created in pairs using energy borrowed from a nearby region of space. The laws of quantum mechanics require that the energy be given back quickly, so the virtual particles annihilate quickly and cannot be captured. Virtual particles are the particle aspect of vacuum fluctuations, as seen by freely falling observers....Virtual photons and virtual gravitons are the particle aspects of electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations and gravitational vacuum fluctuations, respectively.

[caraher]

3. It's really hard to say

The fact is that there's something like a 100 orders-of-magnitude difference between what you'd predict for the energy density of the vacuum and any observable gravitational effects. So observation seems to say there's no noticeable gravitational effect.

This is a serious discrepancy, to say the least!

I think it's still an open question and a real mystery.

[Xipe Totec]

4. What got me started wondering about this

Is the laters issue id SciAm, Nov 2010,

Where they postulate Vacuum Energy as one of the possible explanations for Dark Energy.

[TheMadMonk]

5. One hypothesis has it that the "friction" of virtual particles is what's...

...responsible for inertia.

On a larger scale, the vacuum of space actually appears to exhibit the properties of negative gravity.


caraher, mentions the (it's 120 orders of magnitude BTW) huge discrepancy between what is measured and what some equations suggest should be.

I saw recently that one suggested solution to the conundrum was that the universe simply won't permit naked virtual quarks and gluons in the same way it doesn't permit the existence of real naked quarks and gluons, except under the most extreme conditions that mimic the first split second after the big bang.