What is the multiverse? – Science and life

The multiverse is dear to the universes Caricature The idea of ​​superheroes is a really old one, well established in the history of philosophy. Beyond this intellectual field, many physical models suggest the existence of multiple universes. In fact, many paradoxes disappear in the face of infinity of possibilities.

As scientific knowledge has advanced, the size and diversity of the known universe has also continued to grow: planets have multiplied just as much as stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters… In view of this seemingly never-ending gigantism, it is more than relevant to ask the question. Why would there be only one universe?

Life, an “anomaly” in the multiverse?

Earth alone, as a life-supporting planet, is currently an incredible exception among the average content of the universe. The existence of life in our world rather than another can be explained by the influence of human selection: there would simply be no observers in universes that do not have sufficient physical constants for conscious structures to emerge.

Within the Multiverse, we would be in a very special universe due to its hospitable nature, but it may not be at all representative of its countless companions.

Einstein's multiverse

Within the physical model formulated by Albert Einstein (1879-1955) in 1915, general relativity, space extends to infinity in two of the three geometries of cosmology. If space is infinite, then our universe is just a little bubble lost inside it, and every possible or imaginable phenomenon must occur somewhere.

According to this logic, there must exist somewhere in space an identical copy of our world in every way, with the same past but the future still open to change…

Different theories of the multiverse

Other physical theories have hinted at the possibility of the existence of a large number of universes. In quantum mechanics, quantum superposition refers to other worlds where different evolutions of the system studied will occur. Therefore, every conscious decision can lead to the creation of a new universe.

Loop quantum gravity predicts the existence of “bounces” within black holes themselves, making it possible to think of their internal structure as a universe unto itself. Hence, each world will reproduce itself by generating new black holes, and the whole world will grow indefinitely. Finally, string theory postulates adding six additional dimensions to the geometry of space as we know it. Which opens the door to an almost infinite number of possible physical laws!