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the inflationary cosmological scenario, the post-Planck-time evolution summarized in Figure 14.1 takes over, and these three
dimensions expand to their currently observed form.

Why Three?

An immediate question is, What drives the symmetry reduction that singles out precisely three spatial dimensions for expansion?
That is, beyond the experimental fact that only three of the space dimensions have expanded to observably large size, does string
theory provide a fundamental reason for why some other number (four, five, six, and so on) or, even more symmetrically, all of the
space dimensions don't expand as well? Brandenberger and Vafa came up with a possible explanation. Remember that the small-
radius/large-radius duality of string theory rests upon the fact that when a dimension is curled up like a circle, a string can wrap
around it. Brandenberger and Vafa realized that, like rubber bands wrapped around a bicycle tire inner tube, such wrapped strings
tend to constrict the dimensions they encircle, keeping them from expanding. At first sight, this would seem to mean that each of
the dimensions will be constricted, since the strings can and do wrap them all. The loophole is that if a wrapped string and its
antistring partner (roughly, a string that wraps the dimension in the opposite direction) should come into contact, they will swiftly
annihilate one other, producing an unwrapped string. If these processes happen with sufficient rapidity and efficiency, enough of
the rubber band-like constriction will be eliminated, allowing the dimensions to expand. Brandenberger and Vafa suggested that
this reduction in the choking effect of wrapped strings will happen in only three of the spatial dimensions. Here's why.

Imagine two point particles rolling along a one-dimensional line such as the spatial extent of Lineland. Unless they happen to have
identical velocities, sooner or later one will overtake the other, and they will collide. Notice, however, that if these same point
particles are randomly rolling around on a two-dimensional plane such as the spatial extent of Flatland, it is likely that they will
never collide. The second spatial dimension opens up a new world of trajectories for each particle, most of which do not cross each
other at the same point at the same time. In three, four, or any higher number of dimensions, it gets increasingly unlikely that the
two particles will ever meet. Brandenberger and Vafa realized that an analogous idea holds if we replace point particles with loops
of string, wrapped around spatial dimensions. Although it's significantly harder to see, if there are three (or fewer) circular spatial
dimensions, two wrapped strings will likely collide with one another—the analog of what happens for two particles moving in one
dimension. But in four or more space dimensions, wrapped strings are less and less likely ever to collide—the analog of what
happens for point particles in two or more dimensions.130

And so we have the following picture. In the first moment of the universe, the tumult from the high, but finite, temperature drives
all of the circular dimensions to try to expand. As they do, the wrapped strings constrict the expansion, driving the dimensions back
to their original Planck-size radii. But, sooner or later a random thermal fluctuation will drive three dimensions momentarily to
grow larger than the others, and our discussion then shows that strings which wrap these dimensions are highly likely to collide.
About half of the collisions will involve string/antistring pairs, leading to annihilations that continually lessen the constriction,
allowing these three dimensions to continue to expand. The more they expand, the less likely it is for other strings to get entangled
around them since it takes more energy for a string to wrap around a larger dimension. And so, the expansion feeds on itself,
becoming ever less constricted as the dimensions get ever larger. We can now imagine that these three spatial dimensions continue
to evolve in the manner described in the previous sections, and expand to a size as large as or larger than the currently observable
universe.

Cosmology and Calabi-Yau Shapes

For simplicity, Brandenberger and Vafa imagined that all of the spatial dimensions are circular. In fact, as noted in Chapter 8, so
long as the circular dimensions are large enough that they curve back on themselves only beyond the range of our current
observational capacity, a circular shape is consistent with the universe we observe. But for dimensions that stay small, a more
realistic scenario is one in which they are curled up into a more intricate Calabi-Yau space. Of course, the key question is, Which
Calabi-Yau space? How is this particular space determined? No one has been able to answer this question. But by combining the
drastic topology-changing results described in the preceding chapter with these cosmological insights, we can suggest a framework
for doing so. Through the space-tearing conifold transitions, we now know that any Calabi-Yau shape can evolve into any other.
So, we can imagine that in the tumultuous, hot moments after the bang, the curled-up Calabi-Yau component of space stays small,
but goes through a frenetic dance in which its fabric rips apart and reconnects over and over again, rapidly taking us through a long
sequence of different Calabi-Yau shapes. As the universe cools and three of the spatial dimensions get large, the transitions from

130
For the mathematically inclined reader, we note that the idea underlying this conclusion is the following: If the sum of the spacetime dimensions of the paths swept out by each of two
objects is greater than or equal to the spacetime dimension of the arena through which they are moving then they will generically intersect. For instance, point particles sweep out one-
dimensional spacetime paths—the sum of the spacetime dimensions for two such particle paths is therefore two. The spacetime dimension of Lineland is also two, and hence their paths
will generally intersect (assuming their velocities have not been finely tuned to be exactly equal). Similarly, strings sweep out two-dimensional spacetime paths (their world-sheets); for
two strings the sum in question is therefore four. This means that strings moving in four spacetime dimensions (three space and one time) will generally intersect.