Anthropic Principle Research Articles

An infrared divergence in the cosmological measure theory and the anthropic reasoning

An anthropic principle has made it possible to answer the difficult question of why the observable value of cosmological constant ($\Lambda\sim 10^{-47}$ GeV${}^4$) is so disconcertingly tiny compared to predicted value of vacuum energy density $\rho_{SUSY}\sim 10^{12}$ GeV${}^4$. Unfortunately, there is a darker side to this argument, as it consequently leads to another absurd prediction: that the probability to observe the value $\Lambda=0$ for randomly selected observer exactly equals to 1. We'll call this controversy an infrared divergence problem. It is shown that the IRD prediction can be avoided with the help of a Linde-Vanchurin {\em singular runaway measure} coupled with the calculation of relative Bayesian probabilities by the means of the {\em doomsday argument}. Moreover, it is shown that while the IRD problem occurs for the {\em prediction stage} of value of $\Lambda$, it disappears at the {\em explanatory stage} when $\Lambda$ has already been measured by the observer.

Blueprints of the no-scale multiverse at the LHC

We present a contemporary perspective on the String Landscape and the Multiverse of plausible string, $M$- and $F$-theory vacua. In contrast to traditional statistical classifications and capitulation to the anthropic principle, we seek only to demonstrate the existence of a nonzero probability for a universe matching our own observed physics within the solution ensemble. We argue for the importance of No-Scale Supergravity as an essential common underpinning for the spontaneous emergence of a cosmologically flat universe from the quantum ``nothingness.'' Concretely, we continue to probe the phenomenology of a specific model which is testable at the LHC and Tevatron. Dubbed No-Scale $\mathcal{F}\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}SU(5)$, it represents the intersection of the Flipped $SU(5)$ Grand Unified Theory (GUT) with extra TeV-Scale vectorlike multiplets derived out of $F$-theory, and the dynamics of No-Scale Supergravity, which in turn imply a very restricted set of high-energy boundary conditions. By secondarily minimizing the minimum of the scalar Higgs potential, we dynamically determine the ratio $\mathrm{tan}\ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{\simeq}15--20$ of up- to down-type Higgs vacuum expectation values (VEVs), the universal gaugino boundary mass ${M}_{1/2}\ensuremath{\simeq}450\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$, and, consequently, also the total magnitude of the GUT-scale Higgs VEVs, while constraining the low-energy standard model gauge couplings. In particular, this local minimum minimorum lies within the previously described ``golden strip,'' satisfying all current experimental constraints. We emphasize, however, that the overarching goal is not to establish why our own particular universe possesses any number of specific characteristics, but rather to tease out what generic principles might govern the superset of all possible universes.

Editorial note to: Brandon Carter, Large number coincidences and the anthropic principle in cosmology

This is an editorial note to accompany reprinting as a Golden Oldie in the Journal of General Relativity and Gravitation of the famous paper by Brandon Carter on the anthropic principle in cosmology \cite{Car74}. This paper was presented at IAU Symposium No. 63, entitled Confrontation of cosmological theories with observational data, in 1973.

Modes of Dissipation: The Green Episteme and Its Not-So-Green Psychopathologies

A forward looking alternative to the major past and present Western paradigms of psychological normativity and abnormality is outlined. This novel perspective is linked to the emerging moral power of “green” environmentalism and the immanent life and death struggle to reverse humanity’s fouling of the biosphere. An argument is advanced that such a conceptual re-framing of psychopathology requires foundational recourse both to Penrose’s theory of consciousness as wave function collapse and to a refinement of the anthropic principle. Implications for a possible future “geometric” taxonomy of mental illness are suggested.

Life originated during accelerating expansion in the multiverse

It is argued that all notions associated with the origin of life should be related with the participatory anthropic principle of Wheeler and must be extended into the realm of the multiverse. Also discussed is the notion that life can only be possible in a given universe during a finite period along which such a universe expands in an accelerated fashion. We advance finally the idea that life, cosmic accelerated expansion and quantum theory are nothing but three distinct faces from a single, unique coin which describes the physical reality.

Republication of: Large number coincidences and the anthropic principle in cosmology

This is a reprinting of the paper by Brandon Carter, first published in a little-known volume of conference proceedings in 1974, that moved the anthropic principle from the realm of philosophical speculations to the subject of theoretical physics. The paper has been selected by the Editors of General Relativity and Gravitation for re-publication in the Golden Oldies series of the journal. This republication is accompanied by an editorial note written by George Ellis.

Celestial Aesthetics: Over Our Heads and/or in Our Heads

I am the daughter of earth and water, And the nursling of the sky. Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Cloud,” 1820 Looking at the night sky, we may seem cosmic dwarfs, overwhelmed with a sense of otherness, abyss, lostness. But humans alone enjoy such celestial awe. We can move to a sense of the beholder's celestial ancestry and ongoing relatedness in “our cosmic habitat.” That account joins aesthetics with mathematics, finds dramatic interrelationships gathered under “the anthropic principle,” and considers meteorological aesthetics. The wonder is as much this Homo sapiens with mind enough to search the universe. What is out there is inseparably linked with what is down here. We are at home in the universe. The glory is both over our heads and in our heads.

Axions, inflation and the anthropic principle

The QCD axion is the leading solution to the strong-CP problem, a dark matter candidate, and a possible result of string theory compactifications. However, for axions produced before inflation, symmetry-breaking scales of fa≳1012 GeV (which are favored in string-theoretic axion models) are ruled out by cosmological constraints unless both the axion misalignment angle θ0 and the inflationary Hubble scale HI are extremely fine-tuned. We show that attempting to accommodate a high-fa axion in inflationary cosmology leads to a fine-tuning problem that is worse than the strong-CP problem the axion was originally invented to solve. We also show that this problem remains unresolved by anthropic selection arguments commonly applied to the high-fa axion scenario.

VINITI’s abstract journal Fizika: Problems and solutions

The well-known anthropic principle in application to VINITI’s abstract journal can be formulated as follows: “The abstract journal exists as long as it has readers.” The circulation of the consolidated abstract journal Fizika (Physics) in the period from 1985 through 2009 fell, which indicates a loss in reader interest. If we judge by circulation, the journal’s existence is under threat. However, its publication is necessary to augment the VINITI database, which has included physics abstracts since 1983. Continuing the topic raised in the paper by V.V. Semenov “Contemporary Realities of the Abstract Journal” (Vestnik RAN, 2010, no. 4), the author of the published material suggests ways to improve preparation and raise the quality of the abstract journal Fizika.

Dark energy and the anthropic principle

The Hubble constant is split into two terms H = H 1 + H 2 , where H 1 is a decreasing function due to the Big Bang and the subsequent gravitational interaction that slows the expansion of the Universe and H 2 is an increasing function that corresponds to dark energy which accelerates this expansion. For T = 13.7 Gyr we prove that H 2( T) > 5 m/(yr AU). This is a quite large number and thus the impact of dark energy, which is spread almost everywhere uniformly, should be observable not only on large scales, but also in our Solar system. In particular, we show that Earth, Mars and other planets were closer to the Sun 4.5 Gyr ago. The recession speed ≈5.3 m/yr of the Earth from the Sun seems to be just right for an almost constant influx of solar energy from the origin of life on Earth up to the present over which time the Sun’s luminosity has increased approximately linearly. This presents further support for the Anthropic Principle. Namely, the existence of dark energy guarantees very stable conditions for the development of intelligent life on Earth over a period of 3.5 Gyr.

Cosmological problems with multiple axion-like fields

Incorporating the QCD axion and simultaneously satisfying current constraints on the dark matter density and isocurvature fluctuations requires non-minimal fine-tuning of inflationary parameters or the axion misalignment angle (or both) for Peccei-Quinn symmetry-breaking scales fa > 1012 GeV. To gauge the degree of tuning in models with many axion-like fields at similar symmetry-breaking scales and masses, as may occur in string theoretic models that include a QCD axion, we introduce a figure of merit ℱ that measures the fractional volume of allowed parameter space: the product of the slow roll parameter ϵ and each of the axion misalignment angles, θ0. For a single axion, ℱ≲10−11 is needed to avoid conflict with observations. We show that the fine tuning of ℱ becomes exponentially more extreme in the case of numerous axion-like fields. Anthropic arguments are insufficient to explain the fine tuning because the bulk of the anthropically allowed parameter space is observationally ruled out by limits on the cosmic microwave background isocurvature modes. Therefore, this tuning presents a challenge to the compatibility of string-theoretic models with light axions and inflationary cosmology.

Princípio antrópico cosmológico

Apresento um breve sumário das origens, aplicações e críticas do princípio antrópico. Começo com os primeiros argumentos de Robert Dicke em favor do pensamento antrópico, continuo pelas formulações de Brandon Carter e as extrapolações de John Barrow e Frank Tipler. No final analiso algumas das consequências mais importantes do princípio antrópico em cosmologia e mecânica quântica. Há ainda uma seção dedicada às possíveis refutações do princípio antrópico.

Water and life: the unique properties of H2O

The various contributions assembled in the present book represent the breadth of topics discussed during a symposium held in Varenna, Italy under the auspices of the John Templeton Foundation on April 29–30, 2005 with the title Water of Life: Counterfactual Chemistry and Fine-Tuning in Biochemistry—An Inquiry into the Peculiar Properties of Water Related to L. J. Henderson’s The Fitness of the Environment. The stimulus for this symposium thus came from Lawrence Joseph Henderson’s book The Fitness of the Environment, published first in 1913, in which he discusses how life crucially depends on the properties of matter and perforce also on the unusual characteristics of the water molecule and aqueous solutions, which indeed are many. Henderson saw the universe as “in its very essence biocentric” since cosmic evolution appears to be intimately related to biological evolution. In this context, he seems to be quite close to the “anthropic principle” formulated much later in a cosmological context, claiming that the conditions for the emergence of intelligent life need to be “just right” and than any variation would lead to a cold and empty universe. Cosmologists have discussed in detail various consequences of slight variations in crucial cosmological parameters, while their effects on the intimate characteristics of life are less well developed. In this book, biologists, biochemists, and biophysicists now join forces in order to establish the main consequences of the variation of essential molecular parameters for the origination and persistence of life.

Emergent Probablity and the Anthropic Principle

Emergent Probablity and the Anthropic Principle

Alone in the Universe

We are probably alone in the universe—a conclusion based on observations of over 4,000 exoplanets and fundamental physical constraints. This article updates earlier arguments with the latest astrophysical results. Since the discovery of exoplanets, theologians have asked with renewed urgency what the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) says about salvation and human purpose, but this is the wrong question. The more urgent question is what their absence says. The “Misanthropic Principle” is the observation that, in a universe fine-tuned for life (“Anthropic Principle”), the circumstances necessary for intelligence are rare. Rabbis for 2,000 years discussed the existence of ETI using scriptural passages. We examine the traditional Jewish approaches to ETI, including insights on how ETI affects our perception of God, self, free-will, and responsibility. We explore the implications of our probable solitude, and offer a Jewish response to the ethical lessons to be drawn from the absence of ETI.

Life in universe and the anthropic principle

The aim of this paper is to present anthropic principle, as well as most important formulation of this principle and to illustrate questions concerning mentioned principle. The same principle has proposed as effort to provide a satisfactory key to fundamentall philosophical problems which issu from modern theoretical physics and cosmology. Mentioned problems concern so-called ?fine tuned? universe, whose laws are suitably for evolution and survival of intelligent life forms. This paper reckon with widely metaphisics theory which issu from so-called ?anthropic coincidences? and show that most adequate approach to mentioned problems is principle of observation selection effects.

From the Editors

From the Editors

On the origin and evolution of life in the Galaxy

AbstractA simple stochastic model for evolution, based upon the need to pass a sequence of n critical steps is applied to both terrestrial and extraterrestrial origins of life. In the former case, the time at which humans have emerged during the habitable period of Earth suggests a value of n=4. Progressively adding earlier evolutionary transitions gives an optimum fit when n=5, implying either that their initial transitions are not critical or that habitability began around 6 Ga ago. The origin of life on Mars or elsewhere within the Solar System is excluded by the latter case and the simple anthropic argument is that extraterrestrial life is scarce in the Universe because it does not have time to evolve. Alternatively, the timescale can be extended if the migration of basic progenotic material to Earth is possible. If extra transitions are included in the model to allow for Earth migration, then the start of habitability needs to be even earlier than 6 Ga ago. Our present understanding of Galactic habitability and dynamics does not exclude this possibility. We conclude that Galactic punctuated equilibrium, proposed as a way round the anthropic problem, is not the only way of making life more common in the Galaxy.

A Complete Theory of Everything (Will Be Subjective)

Increasingly encompassing models have been suggested for our world. Theories range from generally accepted to increasingly speculative to apparently bogus. The progression of theories from ego- to geo- to helio-centric models to universe and multiverse theories and beyond was accompanied by a dramatic increase in the sizes of the postulated worlds, with humans being expelled from their center to ever more remote and random locations. Rather than leading to a true theory of everything, this trend faces a turning point after which the predictive power of such theories decreases (actually to zero). Incorporating the location and other capacities of the observer into such theories avoids this problem and allows to distinguish meaningful from predictively meaningless theories. This also leads to a truly complete theory of everything consisting of a (conventional objective) theory of everything plus a (novel subjective) observer process. The observer localization is neither based on the controversial anthropic principle, nor has it anything to do with the quantum-mechanical observation process. The suggested principle is extended to more practical (partial, approximate, probabilistic, parametric) world models (rather than theories of everything). Finally, I provide a justification of Ockham’s razor, and criticize the anthropic principle, the doomsday argument, the no free lunch theorem, and the falsifiability dogma.

DRAKE EQUATION FOR THE MULTIVERSE: FROM THE STRING LANDSCAPE TO COMPLEX LIFE

It is argued that the selection criteria usually referred to as "anthropic conditions" for the existence of intelligent (typical) observers widely adopted in cosmology amount only to preconditions for primitive life. The existence of life does not imply in the existence of intelligent life. On the contrary, the transition from single-celled to complex, multicellular organisms is far from trivial, requiring stringent additional conditions on planetary platforms. An attempt is made to disentangle the necessary steps leading from a selection of universes out of a hypothetical multiverse to the existence of life and of complex life. It is suggested that what is currently called the "anthropic principle" should instead be named the "prebiotic principle."