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Bumping bubbles from our pre-bang past ("test" of eternal infl.)
http://arxiv.org/abs/1012.1995
First Observational Tests of Eternal Inflation
Stephen M. Feeney (UCL), Matthew C. Johnson (Perimeter Institute), Daniel J. Mortlock (Imperial College London), Hiranya V. Peiris (UCL)
5 pages, 2 figures, companion paper forthcoming
(Submitted on 9 Dec 2010)
"The eternal inflation scenario predicts that our observable universe resides inside a single bubble embedded in a vast multiverse, the majority of which is still undergoing super-accelerated expansion. Many of the theories giving rise to eternal inflation predict that we have causal access to collisions with other bubble universes, opening up the possibility that observational cosmology can probe the dynamics of eternal inflation. We present the first observational search for the effects of bubble collisions, using cosmic microwave background data from the WMAP satellite. Using a modular algorithm that is designed to avoid a posteriori selection effects, we find four features on the CMB sky that are consistent with being bubble collisions. If this evidence is corroborated by upcoming data from the Planck satellite, we will be able to gain insight into the possible existence of the multiverse."
This appeared at arxiv.org preprint site on Friday 10 December.
At this point it seems like just a speculative notion. They need further data if they want to make a more of a real case.
The MIT Tech Review reminded readers of the "face" on Mars that at one time people saw sculpted in Martian terrain.
Thanks to MTd2 for spotting this item and tipping us to it.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1012.1995
First Observational Tests of Eternal Inflation
Stephen M. Feeney (UCL), Matthew C. Johnson (Perimeter Institute), Daniel J. Mortlock (Imperial College London), Hiranya V. Peiris (UCL)
5 pages, 2 figures, companion paper forthcoming
(Submitted on 9 Dec 2010)
"The eternal inflation scenario predicts that our observable universe resides inside a single bubble embedded in a vast multiverse, the majority of which is still undergoing super-accelerated expansion. Many of the theories giving rise to eternal inflation predict that we have causal access to collisions with other bubble universes, opening up the possibility that observational cosmology can probe the dynamics of eternal inflation. We present the first observational search for the effects of bubble collisions, using cosmic microwave background data from the WMAP satellite. Using a modular algorithm that is designed to avoid a posteriori selection effects, we find four features on the CMB sky that are consistent with being bubble collisions. If this evidence is corroborated by upcoming data from the Planck satellite, we will be able to gain insight into the possible existence of the multiverse."
This appeared at arxiv.org preprint site on Friday 10 December.
At this point it seems like just a speculative notion. They need further data if they want to make a more of a real case.
The MIT Tech Review reminded readers of the "face" on Mars that at one time people saw sculpted in Martian terrain.
Thanks to MTd2 for spotting this item and tipping us to it.
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