Physics Universe - beta

Inflation

The Inflation Theory was initially put forward by Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, Andy Albrecht and Paul Steinhardt. The theory was supposed to provide answers to problems within the framework of cosmology.

• Why is the universe so uniform?
• Why is the physical scale of the universe so much larger than the fundamental scale of gravity?
• Why are there so many photons in the universe?
• Why is physical matter distributed the way it is?

Inflation theory suggests a period of rapid expansion of the universe prior to any big bang expansion. The universe would then have been filled with energy that would eventually make up the matter we see around us today.

Implications of Inflation Theory

• The amount of matter in the universe is close to the critical density needed for the geometry of the universe to be flat.
• The fluctuations in the density in the early universe had the same amplitude all scales.
• There should be an equal number of hot and cold regions in the cosmic microwave background temperature of the universe.