Related papers: On the dimensionality of spacetime
We are answering the question why 4-dimensional space has the metric 1+3 by making a general argument from a certain type of equations of motion linear in momentum for any spin (except spin zero) in any even dimension d. All known free…
The evolution of sub-spaces in the framework of gravity with higher derivatives is studied. Numerical solutions to exact differential equations are found. It is shown that the initial conditions play crucial role in the space dynamic.…
Four-dimensional spacetime, together with a natural generalisation to extra dimensions, is obtained through an analysis of the structures and symmetries deriving from possible arithmetic expressions for one-dimensional time. On taking the…
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…
It is pointed out that if we allow for the possibility of a multilayered universe, it is possible to maintain exact supersymmetry and arrange, in principle, for the vanishing of the cosmological constant. Superpartner(s) of a known particle…
We explore the properties of physical theories in space-times with two time dimensions. We show that the common arguments used to rule such theories out do not apply if the dynamics associated with the additional time dimension is thermal…
It has been recently claimed [arXiv:1102.3434] that quantum gravity models where the number of dimensions reduces at the ultraviolet exhibit a potentially observable cutoff in the primordial gravitational wave spectrum, and that this is a…
General considerations on the unification of A-type and B-type supersymmetries in the context of interacting p-branes strongly suggest that the signature of spacetime includes two timelike dimensions. This leads to the puzzle of how…
A number of very different approaches to quantum gravity contain a common thread, a hint that spacetime at very short distances becomes effectively two dimensional. I review this evidence, starting with a discussion of the physical meaning…
It is possible that null paths in 5D appear as the timelike paths of massive particles in 4D, where there is an oscillation in the fifth dimension around the hypersurface we call spacetime. A particle in 5D may be regarded as multiply…
The implications of string theory for understanding the dimension of uncompactified spacetime are investigated. Using recent ideas in string cosmology, a new model is proposed to explain why three spatial dimensions grew large. Unlike the…
In models of spacetime that are the product of a four-dimensional spacetime with an ``extra'' dimension, there is the possibility that the extra dimension will collapse to zero size, forming a singularity. We ask whether this collapse is…
Three-dimensional field theories with N=3 and N=4 supersymmetries are considered in the framework of the harmonic-superspace approach. Analytic superspaces of these supersymmetries are similar; however, the geometry of gauge theories with…
We propose a possible answer to one of the most exciting open questions in physics and cosmology, that is the question why we seem to experience four- dimensional space-time with three ordinary and one time dimensions. We have known for…
Why does the physical 4-dimensional space have a 3 + 1 signature rather than a 4 + 0 or a 2 + 2 for its metric? We give a simple explanation based largely on a group-theoretic argument a la Wigner. Applied to flat spaces of higher…
The fact that in Minkowski space, space and time are both quantized does not have to be introduced as a new postulate in physics, but can actually be derived by combining certain features of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. This is…
In a general superstring vacuum configuration, the `internal' space (sector) varies in spacetime. When this variation is non-trivial only in two space-like dimensions, the vacuum contains static cosmic strings with finite energy per unit…
Collisions and subsequent decays of higher dimensional branes leave behind three-dimensional branes and anti-branes, one of which could play the role of our universe. This process also leads to the production of one-dimensional branes and…
Despite their diversity, many of the most prominent candidate theories of quantum gravity share the property to be effectively lower-dimensional at small scales. In particular, dimension two plays a fundamental role in the finiteness of…
It seems to be a common belief that the space in which we live is a space-time manifold of dimension at least four. In the present article we wish to draw attention to a slightly different possibility - a space-time pseudomanifold (or even…