Testing the Multiverse: Bayes, Fine-Tuning and Typicality
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
2017-04-07 v1 History and Philosophy of Physics
Abstract
Theory testing in the physical sciences has been revolutionized in recent decades by Bayesian approaches to probability theory. Here, I will consider Bayesian approaches to theory extensions, that is, theories like inflation which aim to provide a deeper explanation for some aspect of our models (in this case, the standard model of cosmology) that seem unnatural or fine-tuned. In particular, I will consider how cosmologists can test the multiverse using observations of this universe.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1704.01680,
title = {Testing the Multiverse: Bayes, Fine-Tuning and Typicality},
author = {Luke A. Barnes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1704.01680},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
19 pages, 3 figures. Conference proceedings: to appear in "The Philosophy of Cosmology", edited by Khalil Chamcham, Joseph Silk, John D. Barrow, and Simon Saunders. Cambridge University Press, 2017