In Search of the Multiverse

Preface: The Search.

Introduction: In an Infinite Universe, Anything Is Possible.

1. The Coming of the Quantum Cats.

Neither wave nor particle; A quantum of uncertainty; The only mystery; Interpreting the unimaginable; The mother of all quantum cats; The many worlds of Hugh Everett; The branching tree of history; Everett comes in from the cold.

2. Cosmic Coincidences Revisited.

The carbon coincidence; Why is the Universe so big?; Nuclear efficiency; The incredible lightness of gravity; Cosmology's coincidental constant; Ripples in a smooth cosmic sea; Three dimensions good, more dimensions bad; The lottery of life.

3. Quantum Bits and Time Slips.

Being in two minds; In search of the quantum computer; The killer application; Practicalities; Where does it all happen?; A metaphor for the Multiverse; When does it all happen?;Timeslips; Broader horizons.

4. Infinite in All Directions.

Arrows of time; The heat death of the Universe; Every conceivable accident; Time and distance; Time and thermodynamics; The cosmic arrow and the gravitational sink; Bouncing back?; Back to the future.

5. (Just Like) Starting Over.

The particle connection; Nothing comes from nothing; Inflating the Universe; The return of the Steady State?; Bubbles on the River of Time; Eternal inflation and simple beginnings; Boltzmann’s brain, the arrow of time, and causal patch physics; To infinity – and beyond!

6. The String's the Thing.

Gravity grabs attention; Two approaches plus a third way; Compact but perfectly formed; The magic of M; Revisiting the incredible weakness of gravity; When worlds collide; By its bootstraps; The bottomless pit; There's lots of places like home; Exploring the cosmic landscape; The return of Schrödinger’s cat.

7. Faking It? Or Making It?

Is it science?; Inside information; The fakers; Black holes and baby universes; Selecting universes naturally; A new perspective; Makers of universes; Evolution in designer universes; Universes by design.

Further Reading.

Glossary.

Index.