Related papers: Brane Worlds, the Subanthropic Principle and the U…
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 causal entropic principle has been proposed as a superior alternative to the anthropic principle for understanding the magnitude of the cosmological constant. In this approach, the probability to create observers is assumed to be…
Recent advances in string theory and inflationary cosmology have led to a surge of interest in the possible existence of an ensemble of cosmic regions, or universes, among the members of which key physical parameters, such as the masses of…
In a universe dominated by a small cosmological constant or by eternal dark energy with equation of state w < -1/3, observers are surrounded by event horizons. The horizons limit how much of the universe the observers can ever access. We…
The Big Bang singularity in standard model cosmology suggests a program of study in 'early universe' quantum gravity phenomenology. Inflation is usually thought to undermine this program's prospects by means of a dynamical diluting…
In this article we review the theory of cosmological inflation with a particular focus on the beautiful connection it provides between the physics of the very small and observations of the very large. We explain how quantum mechanical…
Eternal inflation predicts our observable universe lies within a bubble (or pocket universe) embedded in a volume of inflating space. The interior of the bubble undergoes inflation and standard cosmology, while the bubble walls expand…
The standard cosmological model, based on general relativity with an inflationary era, is very effective in accounting for a broad range of observed features of the universe. However, the ongoing puzzles about the nature of dark matter and…
We show that anthropic selection emerges inevitably in the general framework for prediction in quantum cosmology. There the predictions of anthropic reasoning depend on the prior implied by the universe's quantum state. To illustrate this…
Brane world cosmologies seem to provide an alternative explanation for the present accelerated stage of the Universe with no need to invoke either a cosmological constant or an exotic \emph{quintessence} component. In this paper we…
The observed values of density parameters inevitably involve uncertainties. We study the conditions for detectability and undetectability of cosmic topology in presence of such uncertainties. We present closed analytical forms of…
There are investigated the generalized methods of cognition of the Existing, i.e. everything that is able to influence to the cognizer, and everything differed from the Existing is postulated as indistinguishable from the non-existing and…
An anthropic understanding of the cosmological constant requires that the vacuum energy at late time scans from one patch of the universe to another. If the vacuum energy during inflation also scans, the various patches of the universe…
I discuss, through a few examples, how observational cosmology can provide insights on hypothetical fundamental physics phenomena or mechanisms, such as Grand Unified Theory, Superstring alternatives to the inflation paradigm, and inflation…
We obtain observational constraints on Randall--Sundrum type II braneworld inflation using a compilation of data including WMAP, the 2dF and latest SDSS galaxy redshift surveys. We place constraints on three classes of inflation models…
Classical and quantum gravitational instabilities, can, respectively, inflate and warm up a primordial Universe satisfying a superstring-motivated principle of "Asymptotic Past Triviality". A physically viable big bang is thus generated…
This paper uses anthropic reasoning to argue for a reduced likelihood that superintelligent AI will come into existence in the future. To make this argument, a new principle is introduced: the Super-Strong Self-Sampling Assumption (SSSSA),…
You and I are highly unlikely to exist in a civilization that has produced only 70 billion people, yet we find ourselves in just such a civilization. Our circumstance, which seems difficult to explain, is easily accounted for if (1) many…
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.…
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) makes certain assumptions which guide all current search programs. To illustrate some, this includes (1) that interstellar flight is not possible (2) that the motivations of interstellar…