Multiverses by Alexa Perlov
Throughout the past decades, physicists have made vast advancements towards understanding our universe and where we come from. Yet, there is still so much we have yet to discover. Namely, are we alone in outer space? Or are we simply one universe floating in a matrix of multiverses?
To understand the hypotheses supporting multiverses, we must first understand both the origins and the geometry of our universe. Based on many cosmological observations, scientists believe our universe originated from the Big Bang. The Big Bang Theory states that our universe started out extremely hot and dense and has since been expanding and cooling (2). Therefore, the universe should have radiation that is “remnant heat left over from the Big Bang” (5). This radiation can be seen via satellites and is called the Cosmic Microwave Background, also known as the CMB (5). When the universe had expanded and
bending, which would yield an angle larger than 1° (7). Conversely, in a hyperbolic universe, light travels at an angle less than 1° (7). That the geometry of our universe is flat reveals that it will expand for an infinite amount of time while the expansion rate approaches zero (8). If the universe was spherical or hyperbolic, the universe would either be closed and eventually collapse or it would be open and expand forever, respectively (8).
So, because the universe is flat and will expand forever, the possibility of multiple universes seems probable (3). Additionally, there are only so many ways particles can be rearranged (3). Thus, in an infinitely large multiverse, eventually universes could start repeating themselves, creating a multiverse of many parallel universes (3). Some of these universes may be exactly the same as our own, some may differ by
because the curvature of space determines how light travels, the universe must be flat cooled down enough to be transparent, the first photons that had escaped are what compose the CMB (2). Satellites display the temperature fluctuations of the CMB (Fig. 1) (6). These temperature variations allowed scientists to measure the observed angular size of the hot and cold spots, which they found to be 1° (6). This means that light travels at an angle of 1°, and because the curvature of space determines how light travels, the universe must be flat (7). In a spherical universe, light travels by
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only one extra particle combination, and some may be completely different.
Another theory, known as Bubble Universes, states that pockets of space may be inflating due to a similar Big Bang, while other pockets of space may have stopped (3). This idea of eternal inflation argues that the multiverse is composed of bubble universes, each dictated by different laws of physics (3).
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