From: Amara Graps (amara@amara.com)
Date: Mon May 19 2003 - 09:31:38 MDT
http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0305292
Astrophysics, abstract
astro-ph/0305292
From: Ulrich Kirchner <uli@cosmology.mth.uct.ac.za>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 05:31:54 GMT (113kb)
Defining Multiverses
Authors: G.F.R. Ellis, U. Kirchner, W.R. Stoeger
Comments: 28 pages, 2 figures
The idea of a multiverse - an ensemble of universes - has received
increasing attention in cosmology, both as the outcome of the
originating process that generated our own universe, and as an
explanation for why our universe appears to be fine-tuned for
life. Here we carefully consider how multiverses should be
defined, stressing the distinction between the collection of all
possible universes, and ensembles of really existing universes or
universe domains (essential for anthropic arguments). We show that
such realised ensembles are by no means unique. A measure on the
space of all universes or universe domains is needed so that
probabilities can be calculated. We examine these issues in the
case of the set of Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW)
universes, and consider scenarios like chaotic inflation which
propose how ensembles of universe domains may be generated.
Finally, we discuss philosophical and meta-scientific issues
raised by the concept of a really existing ensemble.
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