Does matter differ from vacuum?

TL;DR

This paper argues that at high energies, traditional concepts of space-time and particles lack experimental support, suggesting fundamental indistinguishability of vacuum, matter, and radiation at Planck scales, with implications for fundamental symmetries.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Gedankenexperiment and theoretical arguments challenging the classical notions of space-time and particles at high energies.

Findings

Space-time continuity is unsupported at high energies.

Vacuum, matter, and radiation become indistinguishable at Planck energies.

Fundamental symmetries may not be exact in nature.

Abstract

A structured collection of thought provoking conclusions about space and time is given. Using only the Compton wavelength lambda = hbar / m c and the Schwarzschild radius r_s = 2 G m / c^2, it is argued that neither the continuity of space-time nor the concepts of space-point, instant, or point particle have experimental backing at high energies. It is then deduced that Lorentz, gauge, and discrete symmetries are not precisely fulfilled in nature. In the same way, using a simple and new Gedankenexperiment, it is found that at Planck energies, vacuum is fundamentally indistinguishable from radiation and from matter. Some consequences for supersymmetry, duality, and unification are presented.