Related papers: Cosmic Fine Tuning and the Multiverse Hypothesis
Hypothetical existence of other universes gives an opportunity not only to extend the scope of physics, but the scope of biology, SETI, and METI as well. Some steps of the development of alien life concept shall be briefly summarized, then…
Cosmological probes pose an inverse problem where the measurement result is obtained through observations, and the objective is to infer values of model parameters which characterize the underlying physical system -- our Universe. Modern…
The cosmological principle says that the Universe is spatially homogeneous and isotropic. It predicts, among other phenomena, the cosmic redshift of light and the Hubble law. Nevertheless, the existence of structure in the Universe violates…
At first sight, an accurate description of the state of the universe appears to require a mind-bogglingly large and perhaps even infinite amount of information, even if we restrict our attention to a small subsystem such as a rabbit. In…
'Most habitable worlds in the cosmos will have no remotely detectable signs of life' is proposed as a biological hypothesis to be tested in studies of exoplanets. Habitable planets could be discovered elsewhere in the Universe, yet there…
We introduce a mathematical framework for quantifying fine-tuning in general physical settings. In particular, we identify two distinct perspectives on fine-tuning, namely, a local and a global perspective --- and develop corresponding…
A discrete class of privileged reference frames in a closed universe with identical equations of motion for physical degrees of freedom was found. A representation of the quantum state of the universe in a privileged reference frame was…
A bouncing scenario of a flat homogeneous and isotropic universe is explored by using the reconstruction technique for the power-law parametrization of the Hubble parameter in a modified gravity theory with higher-order curvature and trace…
The proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory is intended to observe the atmospheres of nearby terrestrial exoplanets with a resolution greater than that of any previous instrument. While these observations present a substantial opportunity for…
It is explained in detail why the Anthropic Principle (AP) cannot yield any falsifiable predictions, and therefore cannot be a part of science. Cases which have been claimed as successful predictions from the AP are shown to be not that.…
Susskind claims in his recent book The Cosmic Landscape that evidence for the existence and nature of `pocket universes' in a multiverse would be available in the detailed nature of the Cosmic Blackbody Background Radiation that constantly…
Observational tests for the homogeneity of the Universe on large scales are reviewed. Assuming the Cosmological Principle we then estimate cosmological parameters by joint analysis of the Cosmic Microwave Background, Supernovae Ia, peculiar…
Although cosmology is usually considered an observational science, where there is little or no space for experimentation, other approaches can (and have been) also considered. In particular, we can change rather drastically the above, more…
This article reviews the properties and limitations associated with the existence of particle, visual, and event horizons in cosmology in general and in inflationary universes in particular, carefully distinguishing them from `Hubble…
Our knowledge about the universe has increased tremendously in the last three decades or so --- thanks to the progress in observations --- but our understanding has improved very little. There are several fundamental questions about our…
I explore the possibility that the cosmos is fundamentally an equilibrium system, and review the attractive features of such theories. Equilibrium cosmologies are commonly thought to fail due to the ``Boltzmann Brain'' problem. I show that…
Isotropic inhomogeneous dust universes are analysed via observational coordinates based on the past light cones of the observer's galactic worldline. The field equations are reduced to a single first--order {\sc ode} in observational…
The full-blown multiverse hypothesis, chaosogenesis, is refuted on the grounds of the large scale and high precision of the already discovered laws of nature. A selection principle is required not only to explain the possibility of life and…
One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is Dark Energy, which is required to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe within the standard model. But maybe one can explain the observations without introducing new physics, by…
``Constants of Nature'' and cosmological parameters may in fact be variables related to some slowly-varying fields. In models of eternal inflation, such fields will take different values in different parts of the universe. Here I show how…