Stephen
Hawking submitted the final version of his last scientific paper just two weeks
before he died, and it lays the theoretical groundwork for discovering a
parallel universe. Hawking, who passed away on Wednesday aged 76, was co-author
to a mathematical paper which seeks proof of the "multiverse" theory,
which posits the existence of many universes other than our own.
The paper,
called "A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation", had its latest
revisions approved on March 4, ten days before Hawking's death. According
to The Sunday Times newspaper, the paper is due to be
published by an unnamed "leading journal" after a review is complete.
ArXiv.org,
Cornell University website which tracks scientific papers before they are
published, has a record of
the paper including the March 2018 update.
According
to The Sunday Times, the contents of the paper sets out the
mathematics necessary for a deep-space probe to collect evidence which might
prove that other universes exist. The highly theoretical work posits that
evidence of the multiverse should be measurable in background radiation dating
to the beginning of time. This in turn could be measured by a deep-space probe
with the right sensors on-board.
Thomas
Hertog, a physics professor who co-authored the paper with Hawking, said the
paper aimed "to transform the idea of a multiverse into a testable
scientific framework."
Hertog, who
works at KU Leuven University in Belgium, told The Sunday Times he
met with Hawking in person to get final approval before submitting the paper.
The
newspaper said that if such proof is ever found it would make the scientists
behind it likely candidates for a Nobel Prize. However, since Nobel
Prizes cannot
be awarded posthumously, Hawking would be ineligible to receive it.
This
article was originally published by Business
Insider.
Comments
Post a Comment