The explanation of the big bang in string theory from "summary" of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene
The big bang theory holds that the universe began from an extremely hot and dense state and has been expanding ever since. But what caused the big bang? Traditional physics struggles to provide a satisfactory answer to this question. However, string theory offers a new perspective on the origins of the universe. In string theory, the fundamental building blocks of the universe are not point-like particles but rather tiny strings. These strings vibrate at different frequencies, giving rise to the various particles and forces that we observe in the universe. According to string theory, the universe is not just four-dimensional but consists of additional hidden dimensions that are compactified and invisible to us. At the moment of the big bang, the universe was extremely small and hot, with all dimensions tightly wound up. As the universe rapidly expanded, these extra dimensions unfurled, leading to the four-dimensional spacetime that we inhabit today. The expansion of the universe was driven by the release of energy from the strings as they vibrated and interacted with each other. One of the key insights of string theory is that the universe did not start from a singularity, as traditional physics suggests. Instead, the big bang was a smooth transition from a state of high symmetry to a lower symmetry state. This idea resolves some of the paradoxes that arise when trying to understand the beginning of the universe. In string theory, the big bang is not a moment of creation out of nothing, but rather a natural consequence of the dynamics of the strings. The universe emerges from a pre-existing state, shaped by the interactions of these fundamental strings. By understanding the behavior of strings in the early universe, we can gain new insights into the origins and evolution of the cosmos.
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