Can a universe exist with no matter?

[Dremmer]

Just including space, time and energy, but no matter?

 

[fufalian]

energy is a kind of matter.

 

[G037H3]

The answer is no.

 

[Boy@n]

i second answer no, because once you have space time and energy matter is a given.

but, i can easilly envision a kind of existence where there is no time, space or matter, but just energy.

 

[G037H3]

i second answer no, because once you have space time and energy matter is a given.

but, i can easilly envision a kind of existence where there is no time, space or matter, but just energy.

Can you? Energy must act or move, which makes space necessary, and change in state means that time is necessary.

 

[apeiron]

Just including space, time and energy, but no matter?

Given that the universe looks headed towards a heat death, then the answer seem yes.

Of course, there is the issue of the residual matter. Black holes might be able to sweep up and radiate away a lot of the remaining protons and electrons, but some would probably surely escape? And many more neutrinos.

But cosmologists like Charley Lineweaver seem comfortable with the idea of "just radiation" models where there is only the black body fizzle of photons between the event horizons of a de sitter spacetime.

The first moments of the big bang would also be matter-less? A relativistic plasma. Too hot for sub-light particles to actually "exist".

 

[Pinu7]

You need to define "exists."

If you mean create a mathematical model, then yes. If you mean make sense of it, then I doubt it.

 

[wuliheron]

Since mass and energy define each other the question is meaningless. Its a tautology similar to asserting that everything is made of "pure" energy (whatever that is!) You might as well ask how many angels can dance on the head of a pin for all the meaning we can glean from the question.

 

[zeromodz]

Well, you said "a" universe. A universe can have whatever laws of physics you give it. Therefore, a universe can exist without matter.

 

[Galteeth]

This really gets back to the question of whether something has meaningful existence if it is not perceived or is not capable of being perceived. The only sense as humans in which we can say anything exists is relative to our perception of it (or our ability to infer its existence through our perception.) Therefore, the question breaks down to, can a universe without matter have any observable impact on our universe? I would tend to say no.