The Anthropic Landscape of String Theory

The Anthropic Landscape of String Theory

27 Feb 2003 | L. Susskind
L. Susskind discusses the landscape of string theory vacua, suggesting that the landscape is unimaginably large and diverse. He argues that this diversity supports the Anthropic Principle, which posits that the universe is optimized for life. Susskind explores the theoretical and conceptual issues arising from this diversity, particularly in developing a cosmology based on string theory. He explains the concept of supermoduli-space, where different solutions of the theory are characterized by the values of scalar field moduli. However, these vacua are all supersymmetric and have vanishing cosmological constants, making them unsuitable for our universe. Susskind suggests that there are other discrete islands of non-supersymmetric vacua, which may be more suitable for life. He emphasizes the need to explore the landscape to understand the probability of finding anthropically acceptable vacua. Susskind also discusses the instability of de Sitter space, which is a classical vacuum solution with a positive cosmological constant. He argues that de Sitter space is metastable and can decay into other vacua, including those with vanishing cosmological constants. Susskind proposes a bubble cosmology, where the universe expands and forms bubbles of different vacua, leading to an infinite number of disconnected universes. He concludes by discussing the challenges of reconciling global and causal patch perspectives in cosmology and the potential for progress in understanding the landscape through string theory.L. Susskind discusses the landscape of string theory vacua, suggesting that the landscape is unimaginably large and diverse. He argues that this diversity supports the Anthropic Principle, which posits that the universe is optimized for life. Susskind explores the theoretical and conceptual issues arising from this diversity, particularly in developing a cosmology based on string theory. He explains the concept of supermoduli-space, where different solutions of the theory are characterized by the values of scalar field moduli. However, these vacua are all supersymmetric and have vanishing cosmological constants, making them unsuitable for our universe. Susskind suggests that there are other discrete islands of non-supersymmetric vacua, which may be more suitable for life. He emphasizes the need to explore the landscape to understand the probability of finding anthropically acceptable vacua. Susskind also discusses the instability of de Sitter space, which is a classical vacuum solution with a positive cosmological constant. He argues that de Sitter space is metastable and can decay into other vacua, including those with vanishing cosmological constants. Susskind proposes a bubble cosmology, where the universe expands and forms bubbles of different vacua, leading to an infinite number of disconnected universes. He concludes by discussing the challenges of reconciling global and causal patch perspectives in cosmology and the potential for progress in understanding the landscape through string theory.
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