5 Reasons We May Live in a Multiverse

By Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Assistant Managing Editor | December 7, 2012 10:51am

ET

Our universe may be one of many, physicists say.

Credit: Shutterstock/Victor Habbick

The universe we live in may not be the only one out there. In fact, our
universe could be just one of an infinite number of universes making up a
"multiverse."
Though the concept may stretch credulity, there's good physics behind it.
And there's not just one way to get to a multiverse numerous physics
theories independently point to such a conclusion. In fact, some experts
think the existence of hidden universes is more likely than not.
Here are the five most plausible scientific theories suggesting we live in a
multiverse:
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1. Infinite Universes
Scientists can't be sure what the shape of space-time is, but most likely, it's
flat (as opposed to spherical or even donut-shape) and stretches
out infinitely. But if space-time goes on forever, then it must start repeating
at some point, because there are a finite number of ways particles can be
arranged in space and time.
So if you look far enough, you would encounter another version of you in
fact, infinite versions of you. Some of these twins will be doing exactly what
you're doing right now, while others will have worn a different sweater this
morning, and still others will have made vastly different career and life
choices.
Because the observable universe extends only as far as light has had a
chance to get in the 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang (that would be 13.7
billion light-years), the space-time beyond that distance can be considered to
be its own separate universe. In this way, a multitude of universes exists
next to each other in a giant patchwork quilt of universes. [Visualizations of
Infinity: A Gallery]

Space-time may stretch out to infinity. If so, then everything in our universe
is bound to repeat at some point, creating a patchwork quilt of infinite
universes.
Credit: Shutterstock/R.T.Wohlstadter

2. Bubble Universes
In addition to the multiple universes created by infinitely extending spacetime, other universes could arise from a theory called "eternal inflation."
Inflation is the notion that the universe expanded rapidly after the Big Bang,
in effect inflating like a balloon. Eternal inflation, first proposed by Tufts
University cosmologist Alexander Vilenkin, suggests that some pockets of
space stop inflating, while other regions continue to inflate, thus giving rise
to many isolated "bubble universes."
Thus, our own universe, where inflation has ended, allowing stars and
galaxies to form, is but a small bubble in a vast sea of space, some of which
is still inflating, that contains many other bubbles like ours. And in some of
these bubble universes, the laws of physics and fundamental constants
might be different than in ours, making some universes strange places
indeed.
3. Parallel Universes

Another idea that arises from string theory is the notion of "braneworlds"
parallel universes that hover just out of reach of our own, proposed by
Princeton University's Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok of the Perimeter
Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada. The idea comes from the
possibility of many more dimensions to our world than the three of space and
one of time that we know. In addition to our own three-dimensional "brane"
of space, other three-dimensional branes may float in a higher-dimensional
space.

Out universe may live on one membrane, or "brane" that is parallel to many
others containing their own universes, all floating in a higher-dimensional
space.
Credit: Shutterstock/Sandy MacKenzie

Columbia University physicist Brian Greene describes the idea as the notion
that "our universe is one of potentially numerous 'slabs' floating in a higherdimensional space, much like a slice of bread within a grander cosmic loaf,"
in his book "The Hidden Reality" (Vintage Books, 2011).
A further wrinkle on this theory suggests these brane universes aren't always
parallel and out of reach. Sometimes, they might slam into each other,
causing repeated Big Bangs that reset the universes over and over again.
[The Universe: Big Bang to Now in 10 Easy Steps ]
4. Daughter Universes

The theory of quantum mechanics, which reigns over the tiny world of
subatomic particles, suggests another way multiple universes might arise.
Quantum mechanics describes the world in terms of probabilities, rather than
definite outcomes. And the mathematics of this theory might suggest that all
possible outcomes of a situation do occur in their own separate universes.
For example, if you reach a crossroads where you can go right or left, the
present universe gives rise to two daughter universes: one in which you go
right, and one in which you go left.
"And in each universe, there's a copy of you witnessing one or the other
outcome, thinking incorrectly that your reality is the only reality,"
Greene wrote in "The Hidden Reality."
5. Mathematical Universes
Scientists have debated whether mathematics is simply a useful tool for
describing the universe, or whether math itself is the fundamental reality,
and our observations of the universe are just imperfect perceptions of its
true mathematical nature. If the latter is the case, then perhaps the
particular mathematical structure that makes up our universe isn't the only
option, and in fact all possible mathematical structures exist as their own
separate universes.
"A mathematical structure is something that you can describe in a way that's
completely independent of human baggage," said Max Tegmark of MIT, who
proposed this brain-twistin gidea. "I really believe that there is this universe
out there that can exist independently of me that would continue to exist
even if there were no humans."
Follow Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz or
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