Related papers: Brane Worlds, the Subanthropic Principle and the U…
We discuss observational constrains coming from supernovae imposed on the behaviour of the Randall-Sundrum models. The data indicates that, under the assumption that we admit zero pressure dust matter on the brane, the cosmological constant…
The history of astronomical discovery shows that many of the most detectable phenomena, especially detection firsts, are not typical members of their broader class, but rather rare, extreme cases with disproportionately large observational…
We draw on the predictive processing theory of perception to explain why healthy, intelligent, honest, and psychologically normal people might easily misperceive lights in the sky as threatening or extraordinary objects, especially in the…
Many cosmological models assume or imply that the total size of the universe is very large, perhaps even infinite. Here we argue instead that the universe might be comparatively small, in fact not much larger than the currently observed…
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…
In a multiverse context, determining the probability of being in our particular universe depends on estimating its overall habitability compared to other universes with different values of the fundamental constants. One of the most…
The paradigm of \Lambda CDM cosmology works impressively well and with the concept of inflation it explains the universe after the time of decoupling. However there are still a few concerns; after much effort there is no detection of dark…
It is a widespread belief that results like G\"odel's incompleteness theorems or the intrinsic randomness of quantum mechanics represent fundamental limitations to humanity's strive for scientific knowledge. As the argument goes, there are…
According to our current conception of physics, any valid physical theory is supposed to describe the objective evolution of a unique external world. However, this condition is challenged by quantum theory, which suggests that physical…
The swampland conjectures from string theory have had some really interesting implications on cosmology, in particular on inflationary models. Some models of inflation have been shown to be incompatible with these criterion while some have…
Overall, brane inflation is compatible with the recent analysis of the WMAP data. Here we explore the constraints of WMAP and 2dFGRS data on the various brane inflationary scenarios. Brane inflation naturally ends with the production of…
Probably not, because there are lots of manifestly unanthropic ways of producing entropy. We demonstrate that the Causal Entropic Principle (CEP), as a replacement for the anthropic principle to explain the properties of the observed…
For a flat universe presently dominated by smooth energy, either cosmological constant (LCDM) or quintessence (QCDM), we calculate the asymptotic collapsed mass fraction as function of the present ratio of smooth energy to matter energy…
Scientific theories need to be testable by observations, say using Bayes' theorem. A complete theory needs at least the three parts of dynamical laws for specified physical variables, the correct solution of the dynamical laws (boundary…
Anthropic reasoning is a form of statistical reasoning based upon finding oneself a member of a particular reference class of conscious beings. By considering empirical distribution functions defined over animal life on Earth, we can deduce…
Brane-world models where observers are trapped within the thickness of a 3-brane offer novel perspectives on gravitation and cosmology. In this essay, I would argue that the problem of a late epoch acceleration of the universe is well…
Models with extra dimensions have attracted much interest recently because they may provide the solution for long standing problems in physics. One interesting and very attractive idea is that our visible universe is confined to a…
The basic hypothesis of a post-Copernican Cosmological theory is that {\em all the points} of the Universe have to be essentially equivalent: this hypothesis is required in order to avoid any privileged {\em observer}. This assumption has…
This work revises the Brane World Theory known as Randall-Sundrum with the modification of an exponential, redshift-dependent brane tension. This model is studied in a scenario assuming no dark energy, with the aim of determining whether it…
This paper deals with the philosophical issues of the notion of nothingness and pre-inflationary stage of the universe in physical cosmology. We presuppose that, in addition to cosmological limits, there may be both anthropic and…