Testing the Multiverse: Bayes, Fine-Tuning and Typicality
(Submitted on 6 Apr 2017)
Theory testing in the physical sciences has been revolutionized in recent decades by Bayesian approaches to probability theory. Here, I will consider Bayesian approaches to theory extensions, that is, theories like inflation which aim to provide a deeper explanation for some aspect of our models (in this case, the standard model of cosmology) that seem unnatural or fine-tuned. In particular, I will consider how cosmologists can test the multiverse using observations of this universe.
Comments: 19 pages, 3 figures. Conference proceedings: to appear in "The Philosophy of Cosmology", edited by Khalil Chamcham, Joseph Silk, John D. Barrow, and Simon Saunders. Cambridge University Press, 2017
Subjects: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO); History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:1704.01680 [astro-ph.CO]
(or arXiv:1704.01680v1 [astro-ph.CO] for this version)
Submission history
From: Luke Barnes [view email]
[v1] Thu, 6 Apr 2017 01:35:35 GMT (283kb,D)
FREE PDF GRATIS: arXiv
