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In his book Our_Improbable_Universe, Michael Mallary speculates on the content of the other universes that probably exist 'beyond' our own. Beyond is perhaps the wrong word; one of the ideas put forth is that the operant dimensions of the myriad universae may vary considerably. Our universe exhibits 3-dimensionality because the 4th-dimension (which may not actually be time) did not fully 'mature' and the fifth did not expand at all. Therefore other universae may be mono- or duo-dimensional, i.e. linear or planar. (Other universae may lack dimensions altogether, thus possessing inscrutable characteristics.) A tri-dimensional universe and a duo-dimensional universe may or may not be capable of expanding into one another, and if such expansion is permitted, the capacity for mutual affection is unknown. For instance, how would tri-dimensional forces influence the unexpressed third dimension of a mono-dimensional universe's shared space? Could (or, Does) a universe exhibiting five dimensions overlap with our own?
Since the physical constants - and perhaps the nature of physicality itself - likely varies from universe to universe, other tri-dimensional universes still vary from our own considerably. Mallary observes that in some universae, CP Asymmetry does not occur and folling a big bang, the universe's matter and anti-matter immediately collides, resulting in only an endlessly expanding ball of photons (light) and neutrinos. Alternatively, CP Asymmetry might be too great and produce such an abundance of matter that expansive force is overridden; objects known as MACHOs would prevail. These are MAssive Condensed Halo Objects; Mallary identifies several, such as black holes, Jupiter-like stars which never caught fire, and small but dim stars.
In the expanding metauniverse exist countless bubble universae. Our own universe is one such bubble. Some of these bubbles lack the appropriate physics to form stars, and probably consist of a near-endless expanse of uninhabited, unobservable, undefined matter. Others expand but stars burn so quickly that only the inflating edge is luminous. In such universae the interior is a dark expanse of spent stellar material and barren rocky objects. Mallary, in agreement with current astrophysical thinking, speculates that our own universe is a rare specimen. It is rare because it has abundant long-lived stars, scattered from edge to center; it is rare because it has stars and dark matter and black holes and enormous clouds of gas. It is rare because it has us.
The book is poorly written; there are many ambiguous sentences resulting from clumsy syntax. Spell-checker errors abound (tinny instead of tiny). In his attempts to make current thought in physics accessible to the layperson, he sometimes succeeds, sometimes oversimplifies, and sometimes fails to adequately express the idea in question. In spite of these things, the book presents fascinating material. Metauniverses are one of several topics contained within, but I have focused on it here at blather because I am particularly enthralled with the subject. In the anthropological sections I sometimes differ with his conclusions, although such differences are negligible, given the other material presented within. A curious read, if at times a bit ponderous.
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