Space and Astronomy Atlas

How The Universe Works
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Multiverse

Cosmology and the Early Universe

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The multiverse is a hypothesis in cosmology and theoretical physics proposing that our observable universe may be only one of many, possibly infinitely many, universes that collectively make up all of physical reality, each potentially governed by different physical constants or laws. Versions of the idea arise independently from several different lines of physics, including eternal cosmic inflation, the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, and the enormous landscape of possible vacuum states predicted by string theory. Because other proposed universes would generally lie beyond any possible observation, the multiverse hypothesis remains scientifically contested, with critics questioning whether it is testable at all.

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