Witten's "Bubble of Nothing"

[Trollfaz]

I have been reading on string theory when I chanced upon this article.
arXiv:1408.5903

The idea was first proposed by Witten in 1982. It requires extra dimensions in string theory. The extra dimension will squeeze to 0 size and create a hole in space-time in its place. This hole will expand and inside the hole space-time extinguishes. The bubble will push everything it touches away at the speed of light and I guess that if it hit us we will be blasted to atoms.

This is different from the decay of the Higgs field as when the higgs field decays, space-time will still exist, just with drastically different laws of physics.

So if string theory, extra dimensions were true, is some mechanism needed to prevent it's formation because if not we should not exist at all.

As I said again it can only be possible if extra dimensions exist.
Am I understanding it correctly?

 

[AndyW]

I can confirm that you have a general understanding of the concept of string theory and its implications for the formation of extra dimensions. However, it is important to note that string theory is still a highly theoretical and speculative concept, and there is currently no concrete evidence to support its existence.

Furthermore, the idea of extra dimensions leading to the formation of a hole in space-time is just one interpretation of string theory, and there are many other interpretations and theories within the field. It is also important to consider that our current understanding of the laws of physics may not apply in these extra dimensions, so it is difficult to predict exactly what would happen if they were to exist.

In terms of preventing the formation of these extra dimensions, it is currently unknown if there is any mechanism that could do so. This is an area of ongoing research and debate within the scientific community. Ultimately, the existence of extra dimensions and their impact on our universe is still a topic of exploration and discovery.