A note on Boltzmann brains
Abstract
Understanding the observed arrow of time is equivalent, under general assumptions, to explaining why Boltzmann brains do not overwhelm ordinary observers. It is usually thought that this provides a condition on the decay rate of every cosmologically accessible de Sitter vacuum, and that this condition is determined by the production rate of Boltzmann brains calculated using semiclassical theory built on each such vacuum. Here, we argue, based on a recently developed picture of microscopic quantum gravitational degrees of freedom, that this thinking needs to be modified. In particular, depending on the structure of the fundamental theory, the decay rate of a de Sitter vacuum may not have to satisfy any condition except for the one imposed by the Poincaré recurrence. Finally, the framework discussed here also addresses the question of whether a Minkowski vacuum may produce Boltzmann brains.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1212116
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1415943
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; PHY-1214644
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Physics Letters B
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Physics Letters B Journal Volume: 749 Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0370-2693
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- Netherlands
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
Citation Formats
Nomura, Yasunori. A note on Boltzmann brains. Netherlands: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2015.08.029.
Nomura, Yasunori. A note on Boltzmann brains. Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.08.029
Nomura, Yasunori. Thu .
"A note on Boltzmann brains". Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.08.029.
@article{osti_1212116,
title = {A note on Boltzmann brains},
author = {Nomura, Yasunori},
abstractNote = {Understanding the observed arrow of time is equivalent, under general assumptions, to explaining why Boltzmann brains do not overwhelm ordinary observers. It is usually thought that this provides a condition on the decay rate of every cosmologically accessible de Sitter vacuum, and that this condition is determined by the production rate of Boltzmann brains calculated using semiclassical theory built on each such vacuum. Here, we argue, based on a recently developed picture of microscopic quantum gravitational degrees of freedom, that this thinking needs to be modified. In particular, depending on the structure of the fundamental theory, the decay rate of a de Sitter vacuum may not have to satisfy any condition except for the one imposed by the Poincaré recurrence. Finally, the framework discussed here also addresses the question of whether a Minkowski vacuum may produce Boltzmann brains.},
doi = {10.1016/j.physletb.2015.08.029},
journal = {Physics Letters B},
number = C,
volume = 749,
place = {Netherlands},
year = {Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.08.029
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