The Cooper-Hofstadter theory of the superfluid vacuum!

After writing the last post I am doing more reading on superfluid vacuum theory (SVT), and I found out that a SVT was featured in “The Big Bang Theory” TV show!

The Cooper-Hofstadter SVT was invented by Leonard and refined by Sheldon (who did the maths and took most of the credit) in “The Troll Manifestation” (Season 8, Episode 14, 2015 — transcript).

Leonard: Uh, there’s a thing called superfluid vacuum theory, where empty space is imagined as a superfluid with all of its qualities, viscosity, density, surface tension…

Penny: Hey, if you’re pausing for dramatic effect, I’d keep it moving.

Leonard: No, no. People don’t talk about surface tension. If you imagine our three-space as the surface of an N-dimensional superfluid bubble… This is exciting. This is really exciting. I have to go find Sheldon.

Sheldon likes the idea, does the maths, and writes a paper. The seminal Cooper-Hofstadter paper is covered by a popular real-life science blog (which actually has a real-fictional review). The nasty comments from anonymous poster GeneralRelativity come from none other than Stephen Hawking (who actually liked the paper)! See also “Sheldon and Leonard co-author a paper on superfluid vacuum theory,” by Luboš Motl.

Then the Cooper-Hofstadter theory appears again in “The Leftover Thermalization” (Season 8, Episode 18, 2015). The Cooper-Hofstadter paper is covered and praised by Scientific American, but only Sheldon is mentioned — of course Leonard doesn’t like that.

Perhaps SVT will become known as Cooper-Hofstadter Theory, which would be a fun, irreverent, and creative fusion of science and popular culture.

In his foreword to Grigori Volovik’s book “The Universe in a Helium Droplet,” James D. Bjorken, co-author of one of the standard Quantum Field Theory textbooks, warns young scientists to keep a distance from fringe SVT for career’s sake, but says: “I salute here those who take the chance and embark upon the adventure… together with the danger will be high adventure and, if the ideas turn out to be correct, great rewards.”

I wonder if fictional characters like Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper can be nominated for and awarded a Nobel Prize.

Picture from CBS.