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Inflation in the Universe, circa 1986

  • Astrophysics
  • Published:
Acta Physica Hungarica

Abstract

The hot big bang cosmology, or the standard cosmology as it is appropriately known, is a highly successful model, providing a reliable and tested accounting of the Universe from 0.01 s after the bang until today, some 15 Gyr later. However, very special initial data seem to be required in order to account for the observed smoothness and flatness of our Hubble volume and for the existence of the small primeval density inhomogeneities required for the formation of structure in the Universe. Inflation offers a means of accounting for these special initial data which is based upon physics at sub-Planck energy scales (≪m pl ≃ 1019 GeV) and is motivated by contemporary ideas in particle theory. Here I review the status of the “Inflationary Paradigm,” Circa 1986. At present essentially all inflationary models involve a very weakly-coupled (quantified by the presence of a dimensionless parameter of order 10−12 or so) scalar field which is displaced from the minimum of its potential. Regions of the Universe where the scalar field is initially displaced from its minimum undergo inflation as the scalar field relaxes, resulting in a Universe today which resembles ours in regions much larger than our present Hubble volume (≃ 1028 cm), but which on very large scales (≫ 1028 cm) may be highly irregular. At present, the most conspicuous blemish on the paradigm is the lack of a compelling particle physics model to implement it. I also briefly review some other unresolved issues facing inflation, including the confrontation between the predictions of inflation and observational data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fermilab Astrophysics, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, 60510, Batavia, IL, USA

    Michael S. Turner

  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy and Astrophysics Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael S. Turner

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  1. Michael S. Turner
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Dedicated to Prof. G. Marx on his 60th birthday

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Turner, M.S. Inflation in the Universe, circa 1986. Acta Physica Hungarica 64, 285–308 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03158541

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03158541

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