What if you’re somebody’s shadow?

Two days ago, I discussed several theories which call for universes parallel to our own. Brian Greene, writing in Discover Magazine, floats another one even queerer than the three I mentioned. Whereas the other worlds in my last post were causally isolated from our own, this hypothesis posits that all the events in our universe are [...]

Inflationary multiverse theory may have recieved first direct empirical evidence

Democritus, or perhaps Leucippus, was the first Western thinker to propose an infinite universe. Many of Democritus’ commentators in early Greek philosophy, most notably Aristotle, found the hypothesis extravagant. However, numerous strands of 20th century physics suggest Democritus not have gone far enough, and advance a succession of theories positing an infinite number of universes. Quantum [...]

Astronomical survey seems to confirm existence of dark energy

Via BBC News: First results from a major astronomical survey using a cutting-edge technique appear to have confirmed the existence of mysterious dark energy. Dark energy makes up some 74% of the Universe and its existence would explain why the Universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate. The finding was based on studies [...]

Some black holes may predate Big Bang

Via Technology Review’s Physics arXiv Blog: Black holes are regions of space in which gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, not even light. Conventionally, black holes form during a gravitational collapse, after a large supernova for example. But there is another class of objects called primordial black holes that cosmologists think must have [...]

The heart of dark energy

Via Science News: New evidence bolsters the case that a bizarre form of energy is uniformly accelerating the expansion of the universe, refuting one of the alternative models developed by researchers who refuse to accept the idea. The new study, which measures the present-day expansion of the universe to unprecedented accuracy, also suggests that the [...]