Origin of Matter

[Alex K]

@RedSox

If the total energy is zero, you can have a distribution of this net zero by having positive energy in one place and a deficit in another.

I don't think quantum fluctuations can sensibly called a form of energy. They are a process.that occurs in nature I would say...

What is the origin of the positive energy?  Are quantum fluctuations a process that occurs that produces positive energy?  Thanks.

Quantum flucuations is a term that is thrown around a lot, and I want to avoid the impression that it is a catch-all term for obfuscation a la "it's a miracle". The term has a precise definition. In quantum physics (i.e. in physics once you look close enough) most if not all quantities seem to be intrinsically uncertain. Take any quantity such as the velocity of a particle. Try as you may to give it a precise velocity from the outset, it will only lead to an uncertainty in its position, seemingly existing in many places at once until it is observed, which in turn spoils any velocity measurement. The fields that are present in otherwise empty space are subject to the same thing. If you try to imbue them with a value of precisely zero, they automatically will have a rate of change that renders them non-zero. Likewise, the fields governing the geometry of spacetime can be assumed to be subject to this, and one effect of that is that the universe can spontaneously expand and dump all the excess energy into its own contents in the form of particles.
If you ask me why do these fields exist and why are the dynamics such that these fluctuations occur, I'd have to say nobody knows probably.