On three dimensions as the preferred dimensionality of space via the Brandenberger-Vafa mechanism

Brian Greene, Daniel Kabat, and Stefanos Marnerides
Phys. Rev. D 88, 043527 – Published 30 August 2013

Abstract

In previous work it was shown that, in accord with the Brandenberger-Vafa mechanism, three is the maximum number of spatial dimensions that can grow large cosmologically from an initial thermal fluctuation. Here we complement that work by considering the possibility of successive fluctuations. Suppose an initial fluctuation causes at least one dimension to grow, and suppose successive fluctuations occur on time scales of order α1/2. If the string coupling is sufficiently large, we show that such fluctuations are likely to push a three-dimensional subspace to a large volume where winding modes annihilate. In this setting, three is the preferred number of large dimensions. Although encouraging, a more careful study of the dynamics and statistics of fluctuations is needed to assess the likelihood of our assumptions.

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  • Received 19 January 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.88.043527

© 2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Brian Greene1,*, Daniel Kabat1,2,†, and Stefanos Marnerides1,‡

  • 1Institute for Strings, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics and Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lehman College, City University of New York, Bronx, New York 10468, USA

  • *greene@phys.columbia.edu
  • daniel.kabat@lehman.cuny.edu
  • stefanos@phys.columbia.edu

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Vol. 88, Iss. 4 — 15 August 2013

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