Carr B. (Ed.) Universe or Multiverse?

Cambridge University Press, 2007. — 521 p.Recent developments in cosmology and particle physics, such as the string landscape picture, have led to the remarkable realization that our universe - rather than being unique - could be just one of many universes. The multiverse proposal helps to explain the origin of the universe and some of its observational features. Since the physical constants can be different in other universes, the fine-tunings which appear necessary for the emergence of life may also be explained. Nevertheless, many physicists remain uncomfortable with the multiverse proposal, since it is highly speculative and perhaps untestable. In this volume, a number of active and eminent researchers in the field - mainly cosmologists and particle physicists but also some philosophers - address these issues and describe recent developments. The articles represent the full spectrum of views, providing for the first time an overview of the subject. They are written at different academic levels, engaging lay-readers and researchers alike.List of contributors pageAcknowledgements
Editorial note
Overviews
Introduction and overview
Living in the multiverse
Enlightenment, knowledge, ignorance, temptation
Cosmology and astrophysics
Cosmology and the multiverse
The Anthropic Principle revisited
Cosmology from the top down
The multiverse hierarchy
The inflationary multiverse
A model of anthropic reasoning: the dark to ordinary matter ratio
Anthropic predictions: the case of the cosmological constant
The definition and classification of universes
M/string theory and anthropic reasoning
The anthropic principle, dark energy and the LHC
Particle physics and quantum theory
Quarks, electrons and atoms in closely related universes
The fine-tuning problems of particle physics and anthropic mechanisms
The anthropic landscape of string theory
Cosmology and the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics
Anthropic reasoning and quantum cosmology
Micro-anthropic principle for quantum theory
More general philosophical issues
Scientific alternatives to the anthropic principle
Making predictions in a multiverse: conundrums, dangers, coincidences
Multiverses: description, uniqueness and testing
Predictions and tests of multiverse theories
Observation selection theory and cosmological fine-tuning
Are anthropic arguments, involving multiverses and beyond, legitimate?
The multiverse hypothesis: a theistic perspective
Living in a simulated universe
Universes galore: where will it all end?