dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaHow relativistic heavy ion collisions can help us understand the universe
| Authors | Berndt Muller, Dinesh K. Srivastava |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | nucl-th/0407010 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/nucl-th/0407010 |
Abstract
We discuss the anthropic principle and its implications for our existence and the physical laws which govern the universe. Several amazing coincidences which provide conditions necessary for creation of life suggest that the "laws of nature" are not uniquely determined. The idea that our universe is only one among a multitude of universes with different physical laws, as predicted by the theory of chaotic cosmic inflation, provides a logically simple, but speculative resolution of the anthropic principle. An important insight of modern quantum field theory is that the physical laws are not only determined by symmetry principles, but also by the nature of the vacuum state. Experiments involving collisions of relativistic heavy ions provide the clearest tests of the hypothesis that properties of particles and forces can be modified by a change in the vacuum state. We outline the goals of these experiments and briefly review their current status.
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"abstract": "We discuss the anthropic principle and its implications for our existence and\nthe physical laws which govern the universe. Several amazing coincidences which\nprovide conditions necessary for creation of life suggest that the \"laws of\nnature\" are not uniquely determined. The idea that our universe is only one\namong a multitude of universes with different physical laws, as predicted by\nthe theory of chaotic cosmic inflation, provides a logically simple, but\nspeculative resolution of the anthropic principle. An important insight of\nmodern quantum field theory is that the physical laws are not only determined\nby symmetry principles, but also by the nature of the vacuum state. Experiments\ninvolving collisions of relativistic heavy ions provide the clearest tests of\nthe hypothesis that properties of particles and forces can be modified by a\nchange in the vacuum state. We outline the goals of these experiments and\nbriefly review their current status.",
"arxiv_id": "nucl-th/0407010",
"authors": [
"Berndt Muller",
"Dinesh K. Srivastava"
],
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"title": "How relativistic heavy ion collisions can help us understand the universe",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/nucl-th/0407010"
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