The origin of the quantum vacuum?

[Antignor]

Hi,

I've been reading about particle- and quantum physics and have seen some educational video's about it. But I do have a probably philosophical question about it. Most likely based on ignorance (but what question isn't) and false interpretations of what I think to know.

This is what I think to know:
The Quantum Vacuum is the minimal state of energy from which particles pop in and out of existence due to quantum fluctuations (the ultimate instability of the quantum vacuum). "One day", long long time ago, our known universe popped into existence because of such a quantum fluctuation going berserk.

Now my question is:
If the quantum vacuum is not a zero amount of energy, then where does this "minimal" energy level come from?
It sounds like asking "who/what created God". I'm a non-believer, soft-atheist if you like, but still I'd like to know what science knows and "thinks" about this.


Thanks for any reply, links to good reads/video's would be welcome as well.

 

[Maui]

Anything that cannot be found in textbooks is considered unknown or highly speculative.


BTW the following statement is speculative as well:

"One day", long long time ago, our known universe popped into existence because of such a quantum fluctuation going berserk.

 

[topsquark]

Anything that cannot be found in textbooks is considered unknown or highly speculative.

I wouldn't tell the science journals that!

-Dan Boyce

 

[Maui]

Anything that cannot be found in textbooks is considered unknown or highly speculative.

I wouldn't tell the science journals that!

-Dan Boyce

Science journals are somewhat speculative as well(even if they were peer-reviewed). There is a time gap between when a finding is discovered and when it goes into textbooks. The finding is first presented to a wider scientific audience for peer-review. If there is an overwhelming consensus on how to interpret the data and how it fits current theories and models and the finding is confirmed multiple times, the finding goes into the textbooks. By far not everything from the science journals makes it to the textbooks.

The findings and theories in science journals are more speculative than the ones found in textbooks. Theories in textbooks come closest to being facts(without really being facts, though). You need hundreds, if not thousands of conclusive experimental trials to have a theory in a textbook.

 

[Antignor]

I've been waiting for any other input, but so far there wasn't. But from what I can read from the current replies, everything about the origins of our known universe is speculative.
As far as I know the Quantum vacuum is not speculative. Eg. the reflection of light wouldn't be possible if photons and the matter it reflects from wouldn't exchange a particle that's created out of the quantum vacuum and then disappears into non-existence again. or is that also speculation?
And about the creation story. According to various physicists, like V. Stenger, it's very well explainable that our universe is no more than the consequence of a a quantum fluctuation, and some time ago I read that in fact http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16095-its-confirmed-matter-is-merely-vacuum-fluctuations.html" because of the gluons appearing and disappearing again.

So maybe a better question would be: Could the quantum vacuum be created with the universe, or was it possibly "there" already before?

I'm hoping for an enlightening explanation ;)