Related papers: Dispelling the Anthropic Principle from the Dimens…
We give a new formula for all tree-level correlators of boundary field insertions in gauged N=8 supergravity in AdS_4; this is an analog of the tree-level S-matrix in anti-de Sitter space. The formula is written in terms of rational maps…
In a recently proposed theory, the cosmological constant (CC) does not curve spacetime in our universe, but instead gets absorbed into another universe endowed with its own dynamical metric, nonlocally coupled to ours. Thus, one achieves a…
We explore the question why our universe is four dimensional from an asymptotically safe vantage point. We find hints that asymptotically safe quantum fluctuations of gravity can only solve the $U(1)$ Landau-pole problem in the Standard…
In (2+1) space-time dimensions the Einstein theory of gravity has no local degrees of freedom. In fact, in the presence of a negative cosmological term, it is described by a (1+1) dimensional theory living on its boundary: Liouville theory.…
We generalize Einstein's Lagrangian in a non-polynomial (in R) way. The usual Lagrangian (linear in R) is the zero $\alpha'$ limit of our theory, where $\alpha'$ is a parameter that is interpreted as the inverse cosmological costant before…
In the last two decades the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory correspondence (AdS/CFT) has emerged as focal point of many research interests. In particular, it functions as a stepping stone to a still missing full quantum theory of…
I review the basis and limitations of plausible inference in cosmology, in particular the limitation that it can only provide fundamentally true inferences when the hypotheses under consideration form a set that is exhaustive. They never…
We provide detailed evidence for the claim that nonperturbative quantum gravity, defined through state sums of causal triangulated geometries, possesses a large-scale limit in which the dimension of spacetime is four and the dynamics of the…
Is it actually possible to interpret gravitation as space's property in a pure classical way. Then, we note that extended self-gravitating system equilibrium depends directly on the number of dimension of the space in which it evolves.…
The problem of interpreting quantum theory on a large (e.g. cosmological) scale has been commonly conceived as a search for objective reality in a framework that is fundamentally probabilistic. The Everett programme attempts to evade the…
We study the extent to which D=11 supergravity can be deformed and show in two very different ways that, unlike lower D versions, it forbids an extension with cosmological constant. Some speculations about other invariants are made, in…
The anthropic principle is based on the observation that, within narrow bounds, the laws of physics are such as to have allowed the evolution of life. The string theoretic approach to understanding this observation is based on the…
In this communication, we consider a wide class of extensions to General Relativity that break explicitly the Einstein Equivalence Principle by introducing a multiplicative coupling between a scalar field and the electromagnetic Lagrangian.…
The idea that the cosmological term, Lambda, should be a time dependent quantity in cosmology is a most natural one. It is difficult to conceive an expanding universe with a strictly constant vacuum energy density, namely one that has…
We live in a 3+1 space-time that is intended as a description of the universe with three space dimensions and one time dimension. Space-time dimensionality seems so natural that it is rarely criticized. Experiments and the highly successful…
Suppose the usual description of spacetime as a 4-dimensional manifold with a Lorentzian metric breaks down at Planck energies. Can we still construct sensible theoretical models of the universe? Are they testable? Do they lead to a…
Numerous approaches to a quantum theory of gravity posit fundamental ontologies that exclude spacetime, either partially or wholly. This situation raises deep questions about how such theories could relate to the empirical realm, since…
Models of open inflation with a variable density parameter $\Omega$ provide the most natural way to reconcile an open universe with inflation. The use of anthropic principle is essential to derive observational predictions of such models. I…
Galactic rotation curves and lack of direct observations of Dark Matter may indicate that General Relativity is not valid (on galactic scale) and should be replaced with another theory. There is the only variant of Absolute Parallelism…
We discuss the theory of dark energy based on maximally extended supergravity and suggest a possible anthropic explanation of the present value of the cosmological constant and of the observed ratio between dark energy and energy of matter.