Since forces can merge into one at very high energies (e.g. electroweak is the unification of electromagnetism and the weak force, GUT is a hypothetical unification of electromagnetism, weak, and strong force), could one of the fundamental forces split into multiple forces at very low energies (like how the electroweak force split into electromagnetism and the weak force as the universe cooled down)? I assume not, since there have been experiments done very close to absolute zero and there aren’t any big news about new forces being discovered.
Also, could it be possible that a hidden fifth fundamental force exists in the universe? If it existed, how would we detect it? How many fundamental forces could exist in the universe? Which of the four fundamental forces most closely align with “the Force” from Star Wars? Why is gravity “incompatible” with quantum mechanics? Why were the weak force and strong force so uncreatively named? Why are “W” and “Z” bosons called the way they are? Why not something like “weak boson” and “zero boson”, why the letters? Why is the graviton so difficult to detect when we have already found gravitational waves?
Ziggurat@jlai.lu 10 minutes ago
That’s a lot of questions…
We do have a pretty good understanding of physics, using the standard model we could predict the Higgs Boson, and the muon’s abnormal magnetic moment with an incredible precision. While cosmology isn’t as precise yet, we’re now in the precision cosmology era so new forces don’t come out of the hat.
A few new force I may think off
Modifed gravity is an alternative theory to dark-matter which would require gravity to behave differently with low acceleration, . While, there is good reasons to think it’s not working, it’s not yet strictly excluded, so a new force can come from here
Inflaton, would be the force associated to the so-called dark-energy which explain the universe expansion. However, the property of the inflaton particle still have to be understood, but that would be a new force
Higgs field being a boson, it’s a force
Supersymmetry is a pretty popular extension to the standard model (as it would solve a lot of problems, and provides theoretical candidate for dark-matter) and it involved a new batch of boson --> New force