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Return of the Boltzmann Brains

Don N. Page

Abstract

Linde in hep-th/0611043 shows that some (though not all) versions of the global (volume-weighted) description avoid the "Boltzmann brain" problem raised in hep-th/0610079 if the universe does not have a decay time less than 20 Gyr. Here I give an apparently natural version of the volume-weighted description in which the problem persists, highlighting the ambiguity of taking the ratios of infinite volumes that appear to arise from eternal inflation.

Return of the Boltzmann Brains

Abstract

Linde in hep-th/0611043 shows that some (though not all) versions of the global (volume-weighted) description avoid the "Boltzmann brain" problem raised in hep-th/0610079 if the universe does not have a decay time less than 20 Gyr. Here I give an apparently natural version of the volume-weighted description in which the problem persists, highlighting the ambiguity of taking the ratios of infinite volumes that appear to arise from eternal inflation.

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