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Related papers: The Fine-Tuning Argument

200 papers

Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of experiments, we have made remarkably little progress towards answering the most fundamental question of: why is there a universe at…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2012-08-24 Stuart Heinrich

The notion that there are many "universes" with different properties is one answer to the question of "why is the universe so hospitable to life?" This notion also naturally follows from current ideas in eternal inflation and string/M…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Anthony Aguirre

Science looks for the simplest hypotheses to explain observations. Starting with the simple assumption that {\em the actual world is the best possible world}, I sketch an {\it Optimal Argument for the Existence of God}, that the sufferings…

General Physics · Physics 2012-12-27 Don N. Page

Cosmological models that invoke a multiverse - a collection of unobservable regions of space where conditions are very different from the region around us - are controversial, on the grounds that unobservable phenomena shouldn't play a…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2018-01-17 Sean M. Carroll

If the parameters defining the physics of our universe departed from their present values, the observed rich structure and complexity would not be supported. This article considers whether similar fine-tuning of parameters applies to…

Popular Physics · Physics 2020-08-26 Jeffrey M. Shainline

In this paper we work out a multiverse scenario whose physical characteristics enable us to advance the following the conjecture that whereas the physics of particles and fields is confined to live in the realm of the whole multiverse…

Astrophysics · Physics 2014-11-18 Pedro F. Gonzalez-Diaz , Prado Martin-Moruno , Artyom V. Yurov

Theoretical achievements, as well as much controversy, surround multiverse theory. Various types of multiverses, with an increasing amount of complexity, were suggested and thoroughly discussed in literature by now. While these types are…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2018-02-08 Yakir Aharonov , Eliahu Cohen , Tomer Shushi

Many of the classic problems of particle physics appear in a very different light when viewed from the perspective of the multiverse. Most importantly the two great ``fine tuning'' problems that motivate the field are far less serious when…

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology · Physics 2007-10-23 John F. Donoghue

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…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2015-07-08 Alexey Burov , Lev Burov

It is commonplace in discussions of modern cosmology to assert that the early universe began in a special state. Conventionally, cosmologists characterize this fine-tuning in terms of the horizon and flatness problems. I argue that the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2014-06-13 Sean M. Carroll

Even when completely and consistently formulated, a fundamental theory of physics and cosmological boundary conditions may not give unambiguous and unique predictions for the universe we observe; indeed inflation, string/M theory, and…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2009-10-07 Anthony Aguirre , Max Tegmark

Fine-tuning studies whether some physical parameters, or relevant ratios between them, are located within so-called life-permitting intervals of small probability outside of which carbon-based life would not be possible. Recent developments…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2024-03-04 Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón , Ola Hössjer , Calvin Mathew

Monotheistic religions such as Judaism and Christianity affirm that God loves all humans and created them in His image. However, we have learned from Darwin that we were not created separately from other life on earth. Some Christians…

General Physics · Physics 2008-01-17 Don N. Page

The possibility that the multiverse corresponds to physical reality deserves serious investigation. Having three different important theories,(quantum mechanics, string theory and inflation), predict the existence of the multiverse is…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2008-04-29 Laura Mersini-Houghton

We consider the proposition that multiple universes exist by reviewing the various manifestations. In recent years, this idea has been elevated from science fiction and introduced in separate guises as an explanation for coincidence…

General Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Alasdair Macleod

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate, by means of concepts and theorems drawn from mathematical logic, the conditions under which the existence of a multiverse is a logical necessity in mathematical physics, and the implications of…

General Physics · Physics 2014-11-20 Gordon McCabe

I describe reasons to think we are living in an eternally inflating multiverse where the observable "constants" of nature vary from place to place. The major obstacle to making predictions in this context is that we must regulate the…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2015-05-28 Ben Freivogel

Inflationary cosmology attempts to provide a natural explanation for the flatness and homogeneity of the observable universe. In the context of reversible (unitary) evolution, this goal is difficult to satisfy, as Liouville's theorem…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2010-07-09 Sean M. Carroll , Heywood Tam

Evolution needs long times and large numbers of samples or species. Our finely tuned physics can therefore not have evolved during the fast changes of a single Big-Bang universe, but the cosmological scales for time and for the number of…

General Physics · Physics 2009-12-31 Tom Gehrels

Where does it all come from? Where are we going? Are we alone in the universe? What is good and what is evil? The scientific narrative of cosmic evolution demands that we tackle such big questions with a cosmological perspective. I tackle…

General Physics · Physics 2014-06-24 Clement Vidal