Related papers: Why do we observe a weak force? The hierarchy prob…
In some cosmological theories with varying constants there are anthropic reasons why the expansion of the universe must not be too {\it close} to flatness or the cosmological constant too close to zero. Using exact theories which…
The possibility is examined that the masses of the light quarks $u$ and $d$ have varied over the course of the universe's evolution. Such a variation would have an effect on axion cosmology, and can be the basis of a solution of the…
Anthropic arguments in multiverse cosmology and string theory rely on the weak anthropic principle (WAP). We show that the principle, though ultimately a tautology, is nevertheless ambiguous. It can be reformulated in one of two unambiguous…
The Principle of Naturalness of small parameters of a theory is reviewed. While quantum field theories constructed from gauge fields and fermions only are natural, those containing elementary scalar fields are not. In particular the Higgs…
Higher-dimensional theories of the kind which may unify gravitation with particle physics can lead to significant modifications of general relativity. In five dimensions, the vacuum becomes non-standard, and the Weak Equivalence Principle…
We propose a model of a confining dark sector, dark technicolor, that communicates with the Standard Model through the Higgs portal. In this model electroweak symmetry breaking and dark matter share a common origin, and the electroweak…
Three aspects of supersymmetric theories are discussed: electroweak symmetry breaking, the issues of flavor, and gauge unification. The heavy top quark plays an important, sometimes dominant, role in each case. Additional symmetries lead to…
The Anthropic Principle has been with us since the 1970s. This Principle is advanced to account for the "fine tuning" of the 25 constants of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Were these constants very different, life could not exist.…
Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. In spite of the more than thirty years of its existence it did not make any empirically testable predictions. And it is…
The mass of an electroweakly interacting neutrino consists of the electric and weak parts responsible for the existence of its charge, charge radius, and magnetic moment. Such connections explain the formation of paraneutrinos, for example,…
A quantum theory of the universe consists of a theory of its quantum dynamics and a theory of its quantum state The theory predicts quantum multiverses in the form of decoherent sets of alternative histories describing the evolution of the…
The fundamental laws and constants of our universe seem to be finely tuned for life. The various multiverse hypotheses are popular explanations for the fine tuning. This paper reviews the four main suggestions on inference in the presence…
The chart of nuclei could be enlarged with a branch describing neutron stars that are huge nuclei of a few solar masses held together by gravity force and sustained by the pressure due to the degenerate Fermi sea. We contend in this…
The observed dark energy in the universe might give particles inertial mass. We investigate one realization of this idea, that the dark energy field might be a decayed scalar component of a supermultiplet field in the early universe that…
Our world is wonderful because of the normal but negligibly small baryonic part (i.e., atoms) although unknown dark matter and dark energy dominate the Universe. A stable atomic nucleus could be simply termed as ``strong matter'' since its…
We investigate the relation between vacuum energy and the hierarchy of forces in habitable universes. The hierarchy of forces studied in \cite{fred} was bound by $\frac{\alpha_G}{\alpha} \le 10^{-34}$, using structure formation arguments…
Complex systems are characterized by specific time-dependent interactions among their many constituents. As a consequence they often manifest rich, non-trivial and unexpected behavior. Examples arise both in the physical and non-physical…
We conjecture a general upper bound on the strength of gravity relative to gauge forces in quantum gravity. This implies, in particular, that in a four-dimensional theory with gravity and a U(1) gauge field with gauge coupling g, there is a…
We conjecture that weak interactions are peculiar manifestations of quantum gravity at the Fermi scale, and that the Fermi constant is related to the Newtonian constant of gravitation.In this framework one may understand the violations of…
Multiverse scenarios in cosmology assume that other universes exist "beyond" our own universe. They are an exciting challenge both for empirical and theoretical research as well as for philosophy of science. They could be necessary to…