EDU 20081

The String Landscape as Genetic Alphabet: The Subtle Virtues of a Non-Unique Cosmic Code

James Gardner

EDU 2008 2

Francis Crick’s Classic Contrast Arbitrariness of the terrestrial

genetic code

versus

Presumed universality of the laws and constants of physics.

EDU 2008 3

Disquieting Development

Universality of laws and constants of physics called into question.

The culprit: new concept of a string theory landscape containing numerous low-energy vacuua.

EDU 2008 4

Horror of Horrors

Physicists’ hopes that string theory would yield a unique solution, corresponding tightly to the parameters of the Standard Model, have been dashed.

Now, some string theorists have embraced the weak anthropic principle out of desperation.

EDU 2008 5

Don’t despair, because . . .

The very arbitrariness of the cosmic code may be trying to tell us something important.

EDU 2008 6

The Subtle Virtues of a Non-Unique Cosmic Code Arbitrariness of cosmic code

→ capacity of cosmic code to function as a genuine code (a “message”).

Arbitrariness may enable the cosmic code to function as a kind of cosmic DNA.

EDU 2008 7

The Hypothesized Function of “Cosmic DNA” To prescribe a developmental

program of cosmic ontogeny. To serve as a heredity

mechanism in a hypothesized process of cosmic replication.

Functionally equivalent to the role of terrestrial DNA.

EDU 2008 8

String Theory: Not Even Wrong?

Fundamental credo of physics: there exists an elegant & unique final theory.

This mythical beast has proven as elusive as a unicorn.

EDU 2008 9

String Theory: The Hope and The Reality At first, a promising path toward

unique & “brittle” reconciliation of relativity and quantum mechanics.

But problems: No experimental evidence. Alice’s restaurant problem: you

can find any cosmos you could possibly want somewhere on the landscape.

EDU 2008 10

Rube Goldberg’s Universe

Not an “elegant universe” at all. Predicting the constants of nature

becomes a messy environmental problem.

All the complications of biology.

(Remember that word: biology.)

Fundamental Character of Physical Laws / Constants

Invariant/inevitable

or

Contingent/subject to selection.

EDU 2008 11

A Surprising Convergence

Links Stanford string theorists, Smolin, Wheeler, Davies, me, others.

Laws/constants of physics are not invariant but the result of some kind of generative process.

EDU 2008 12

What Kind of Generative Process? Eternal inflation → randomly

varying vacuua selected from the string landscape at the moment of each new Big Bang, with WAP overlay.

PAP (Wheeler & Davies). CNS (Smolin). Selfish Biocosm hypothesis (me).

EDU 2008 13

Radical Common Element

Laws & constants of nature are not immutable but subject to variation (all theorists listed above). Evolution (Smolin & Gardner) Perturbation & emergence

through operation of life & intelligence (Wheeler, Davies & Gardner).

EDU 2008 14

String Theory’s Unheralded Triumph (1) Not the revelation of elegant and

unique laws of nature. But something else of enormous

value: a plausible physical mechanism to explain the posited variation of the laws and constants of physics.

Vast number of Calabi-Yau manifolds.

EDU 2008 15

String Theory’s Unheralded Triumph (2) Calabi-Yau shape variation allows

the string landscape to be populated by a vast number of Calabi-Yau manifolds.

This possibility may permit the elements of the string landscape to function as cosmic DNA (i.e., as a true code).

EDU 2008 16

The Hard Art of Universe Creation How to send a message to an

artificially created baby universe?

Andrei Linde’s solution: embed the message in the laws of physics that would prevail in the new universe.

EDU 2008 17

M-Theory’s Perceived Weakness Is Crucial Strength

Lack of unique prediction of physical laws and constants is crucial strength if one of the functions of physical laws and constants is to transmit information to new baby universes.

Linde: Message can be long and informative only if string landscape is sufficiently diverse.

EDU 2008 18

Precise Analogy to DNA

Inherent arbitrariness of the genetic code allows DNA to function as a superb coding mechanism.

Inherent flexibility of M-theory cosmology makes it possible for physical laws/constants to encode a message → cosmic DNA → recipe for cosmic reproduction.

EDU 2008 19

Goodbye, Final TheoryHello, Cosmic Biology Out—Beauty, elegance,

mathematical uniqueness.

In—Messiness, complexity, arbitrariness.

EDU 2008 20

Christian de Duve:

“Life is an integral part of the universe; it is even the most complex and significant part of the known universe.”

“The manifestations of life should dominate our world picture, not be excluded from it.”

EDU 2008 21