Astronomy: The multiverse might exist outside of Marvel – The Columbus Dispatch

Kenneth Hicks| The Columbus Dispatch

If you likesuperheromovies, you may have heard about the new one starring Spiderman. I havent seenit, but I heard that it explores a topic called the multiverse.In its simplest form, theidea isthatmultiple universes exist, separate from our own but parallel in time.

Thisideamay sound like fantasy, but actuallyitsbased in science.

The multiverse is often used in cosmology as a way to justify the Big Bang.Our current theory of the Big Bang isfroma process called inflation, where space and time can expand at an exponential rate according to Einsteins general relativity,triggered bya quantum fluctuation in the empty vacuum.

To unpack that last sentence would take a book, so just focus on the last part: it all began with a small quantum fluctuation.

In quantum mechanics, fluctuations in space-time (where particle pairs can pop into existence for a fleeting moment, then disappear) are part of quantum theory. Quantum theory is one of thefoundations of modern physics, having been verified by countless experiments.For example, quantum theoryled to the invention oftransistors, which are used inallcomputers and cellphones.

The quantum fluctuation that led to the Big Bangwas averylow probability event.You might call it a once-in-a-universe likelihood.But if it happened once, then maybe it could have happened twice (or a multitude of times) somewhere in the vastness of the empty void that preceded the Big Bang. Hence, the idea of the multiverse.

The idea of the multiverse has been extended from the vastness of space to the vastness of time.Here, the idea is that whenever a choice is made, the universe splits into different branches in time, spawning two universes, one stemming from each choice.

This idea is key to understanding quantum theory, where probabilistic outcomesdetermine the fate of small particles. This interpretation of quantum theorystemsfrom the work of Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman, who developed the path-integral approach.

The problem with the multiverse theory is that it cant be proven correct ornot.Just like we cant move backward in time, we cantseebeyond the space of our universe.In other words, we cant make contact with any other universe except our own.

Popularmovies would have you think thatthere is a wayfor youtomove backward in time(or into an alternate universe)but thatsfiction.

Although Spiderman isallowedone to move around freely inthe multiverse,we must live in the real world. But if it were possibleto discover a connection to the multiverse, thebeststarting point wouldlikelybe adegreein quantum physics, just like the fictional character of Spidermans alias, Peter Parker.

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Astronomy: The multiverse might exist outside of Marvel - The Columbus Dispatch