Work

Holographic Probabilities in Eternal Inflation

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: In the global description of eternal inflation, probabilities for vacua are notoriously ambiguous. The local point of view is preferred by holography and naturally picks out a simple probability measure. It is insensitive to large expansion factors or lifetimes and so resolves a recently noted paradox. Any cosmological measure must be complemented with the probability for observers to emerge in a given vacuum. In lieu of anthropic criteria, I propose to estimate this by the entropy that can be produced in a local patch. This allows for prior-free predictions.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.97.191302

Author: Raphael Bousso

Institutions: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy

Awards: G1643223109, G193590374