Quantum Fluctuations of Planck Mass as Mutation Mechanism in a Theory of Evolution of the Universe

Abstract

Contributed talk at the Seventh Marcel Grossman Meeting on Gravity, June 24-30. A theory of evolution of the universe requires both a mutation mechanism and a selection mechanism. We believe that both can be encountered in the stochastic approach to quantum cosmology. In Brans-Dicke chaotic inflation, the quantum fluctuations of Planck mass behave as mutations, such that new inflationary domains may contain values of Planck mass that differ slightly from their parent's. The selection mechanism establishes that the value of Planck mass should be such as to increase the proper volume of the inflationary domain, which will then generate more offsprings. This mechanism predicts that the effective Planck scale at the end of inflation should be much larger than any given scale in the model.