Directions: Parallel universes, the phenomenon that captures science and imagination

“In Ts’ui Pên’s work, all outcomes occur; each one is the starting point for the other ramifications,” says Jorge Luis Borges in “The Garden of Bifurcation Paths,” the story that was 15 years before the theory of parallel universes or the interpretation of the many worlds, which he developed Scientist Hugh Everett in 1957, which dealt with the last movie “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (No Way Home).

The connection between both fantasy is evidenced in the epic spider-man superhero starring Andrew Garfield, where if you look carefully at his room, you can spot a poster stuck to the wall, behind a red lamp, where he explains in detail: “Labyrinths. Selected Stories and Other Writings. Written by Jorge Luis Borges.” This is the cover of Borges’ book known in Spanish as “Ficciones”.

In the movie, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Super Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Girl and Spider-Man Noir are some of the faces taken by the superhero in the different parallel universes that make up the comic book Multiverse. In vogue after the premiere of the latest vogue version.

“There are multiple facts, this is Earth dimension 616 and I am from Earth 833,” one of the characters in the movie says, to which another responds “Are you saying there is a multiverse? (Parallel universes) because I thought it was only theory. It changes the way we understand It has the initial singularity. We’re talking about an eternal inflation system. How does that work with quantity? That’s crazy.”

All this happens in science fiction cinema. However, from the real sciences, physics, and astrophysics, there is a lot to be said about the possibility of parallel worlds.

Alberto Rogo, Ph.D. in Physics from the Balseiro Institute, explains that “it is necessary to talk about parallel universes as mirror models of our universe, which are created virtually in every quantum measurement, as in Spider-Man. In Interpretation of the Many Worlds, these The worlds are the same as ours, with the same laws, only in one of them it turns left and the other turns right. It is the same universes that evolve in parallel with a different flow.”

One theory says that there are different bubbles and universes with the same laws or not

The theory that the red names are the ones proposed by the scientist Hugh Everett in 1957 “to solve the problem of quantum physics”, which means that “quantum predictions of the results of experiments are probabilistic”, that is, they are based on chance. . This idea often makes many students of this phenomenon uncomfortable, because it suggests that objects in the microscopic world, which is what quantum physics studies, behave differently from objects in the macro world.

“The proposed solution to this puzzle – says Dr. Rogo – is that in reality there is no such thing as chance, but rather, if a coin is tossed, heads appear in one world and tails in another. This solves the random problem in favor of a more mystical one, which is That universes are constantly being created, each in its own dimensions, and do not interact with each other. For many, it is an esoteric theory, expensive, although for others it is the only solution so far.”

It is necessary to speak of parallel universes as replicas of our world, which are created virtually in every quantification process, as in Spider-Man “

Albert Reed
Doctor of Physics

For her part, Dr. in astronomy from the National University of La Plata (UNLP), Beatriz Garcia, points to another line of thinking that has led to thinking about the multiverse, which begins with the proven idea of ​​an inflationary universe.

“Inflation – refers to Garcia – is a moment of the universe that occurred very close to its beginning, about 10 it rose to -38 seconds after its birth, as its expansion developed exponentially. Speaking of parallel universes, some people say there was not a single inflation, but There was a lot, and there is still inflation. Each inflation has produced bubbles that are not our universes, which present their own rules, such as the laws of physics and mathematics, that are different from ours. But how are you going to go about discovering those other universes? It is very unlikely that we will be able to prove the validity of the theory of the multiverse , because the tools we know will not serve us in it. And if there is another universe, it is more likely that what we know will not be verified in our own. This is why what the Spider-Man movie shows, when they show themselves, is highly unlikely, since They should be completely different.

multiple universities

Germán Dima, Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and organizer of “Contraposible”, an outreach event in which scientific thought merges with the worlds of animation, science fiction, comics, fantasy, film and video games, mentions three other theories that shed light on parallel universes. Or, as he prefers to call it, a “multiverse”.

“One of them -Dima’s description- is to think of parallel universes with the same physical and mathematical laws that govern our laws, but with different law constants, and another that can be based on dark matter. One theory says that there are different bubbles and universes with the same laws or not, but Some properties of this universe are linked to us through dark matter. In this sense, there are people who believe that gravity is what attracts us to the other universe.”

In this sense, a “wormhole” is a hypothetical configuration in space consisting of a “fold” or abbreviation of space-time described by Albert Einstein’s equations of general relativity, and which was only accessed through theory, but not through observation.

“People wonder if a transit into another universe would be through a wormhole – points outside Beatriz Garcia – and the answer is no, because a wormhole is a space-time fold of our universe; that is, it is a passage to another place, but within our universe. It may exist mathematically, But we don’t know where it is, we still can’t detect it.”

Finally, there is a third theory associated with “antimatter,” the opposite version of what is known as matter in our universe.

“When the universe was formed – explains Germain Dima – there was the same amount of matter as antimatter. At some point, due to unknown processes, there was a minimum imbalance that made matter outweigh antimatter, and that’s why the universe we know now is surrounded by matter Not antimatter. But what if the balance is reversed? This is another idea that raises the possibility of another universe of antimatter.”

Meanwhile, for UNLP astronomer Beatriz Garcia, “When talking about a scientific theory, it is necessary to take into account the frame of reference, which is the scientific method. In this there are four main axes: a theory can be proposed and predictions made, but the scientific method requires verification of these Interlocutor, and for this it is necessary to make observations, so the idea of ​​​​the multiverse is at the moment only guesswork. ”

Borges worlds

Alberto Rojo, a Physicist specializing in quantum mechanics and author of the 2013 book Borges and Quantum Physics, considers that the Argentine writer had previously launched the theory that was later nominated as the “Many Worlds Interpretation”, by Hugh Everett.

“I was able to talk with several people who were involved in the development of the theory – he points out – and how Borges got into law. When Everett penned it in 1957, it is believed that he did not know about Borges, because at that time Borges was not very well known in the world The Anglo, though it has already been translated, and in fact, ‘The Garden of Forked Paths’ is Burgess’ first short story translated into English. But later, as the many-worlds theory spread, which initially had few repercussions, physicist Lynne Heggston told the authors that Borges had said it before.

But how do you discover those other universes? It is unlikely that we will be able to prove whether the theory of the multiverse is correct, because the tools we know will not serve us in this “

Beatrice Garcia
Doctor of Astronomy (UNLP)

“Even in the second work Parallel Worlds, by Leon N. Cooper – Rojo points out – at the end of the paper, the man says that this idea is the same as Borges’ idea, and that poetry was again former poetry. Science. In addition, ten years later, it was He made an edition of all the works in the Many Realms, and in the inscriptions is the story of Borges.Between Everett’s work and that of Borges there are some startling parallels, so much so that it made me wonder if Everett hadn’t read the story.But this world died in the seventies, and it is very likely that he did not read it, because often ideas reach science at once.But in this case, the truth is that Borges was 15 years ahead.

Just an interpretation of the caricature?

The multiverse or “multiverse” that occurs in superhero comics, both Marvel and DC, was created in part, it is claimed, to organize the various different plots that have been written.

For Germán Dima, Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and organizer of “Contraposible,” an outreach event that combines science, animation, comics, and fantasy, “In comics, it happens that writers create stories about a superhero and then it wasn’t There is continuity or inconsistency with each other, which is obvious because the editors would not talk to each other.In this sense, DC was the first to try to put together a guide and a story, not that everyone writes what they want which are self-conclusive stories and the stories of some do not affect others.

The idea that the multiverse is real continues to attract science and imagination

He adds, “The way to solve it was to say that there are many universes. Thus, DC sparked a major comic, ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’, from 1985, in which all the superheroes from all universes come together to defeat one evil, and eventually the Earth is created.” One, one universe, and that counts as a new beginning, “Reset.” Meanwhile, Marvel didn’t have “Reset” buttons until 2000, when it opened up another universe, the “Ultimates” universe, and told parallel stories.”

“In terms of the Spider-Man comics — including Dima, who is a doctor in physics but also a researcher in comics — in 2014, there was a great story which is ‘Spider Verse,’ where there were different universes and a bad guy who was dedicated to catching Spider-Man. In the different universes. In that sense, there is a world where a spider is bitten by Gwen Stacey and the person who dies is Peter Parker. In the Spider-verse, the Peter Parker we know and Gwen Stacey intersect with the powers of the spider at one point, which is a very nice textual transition because they realize that this The part of existence is there because they consider themselves to be failures in the other and they are happy to see each other.”

Meanwhile, regardless of whether parallel universes exist or not, the idea that the multiverse can be real continues to attract science and imagination, as well as many followers of these phenomena, who continue to weave their hypotheses and theories.