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__NOTOC__ In
physical cosmology Physical cosmology is a branch of cosmology concerned with the study of cosmological models. A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fu ...
, the inflationary epoch was the period in the evolution of the early
universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
when, according to inflation theory, the universe underwent an extremely rapid exponential expansion. This rapid expansion increased the linear dimensions of the early universe by a factor of at least 1026 (and possibly a much larger factor), and so increased its volume by a factor of at least 1078. Expansion by a factor of 1026 is equivalent to expanding an object 1
nanometer 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Molecule">molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm), or nanometer (American spelling Despite the va ...
(10−9 m, about half the width of a
molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...
of
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
) in length to one approximately 10.6 light years (about 62 trillion miles).


Description

Vacuum state is a configuration of quantum fields representing a local minimum (but not necessarily a global minimum) of energy. Inflationary models propose that at approximately 10−36 seconds after the
Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...
, the vacuum state of the Universe was different from the one seen at the present time: the inflationary vacuum had a much higher energy density. According to
general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
, any vacuum state with non-zero energy density generates a repulsive force that leads to an expansion of space. In inflationary models, early high-energy vacuum state causes a very rapid expansion. This expansion explains various properties of the current universe that are difficult to account for without such an inflationary epoch. Most inflationary models propose a
scalar field In mathematics and physics, a scalar field is a function associating a single number to each point in a region of space – possibly physical space. The scalar may either be a pure mathematical number ( dimensionless) or a scalar physical ...
called the inflaton field, with properties necessary for having (at least) two vacuum states. It is not known exactly when the inflationary epoch ended, but it is thought to have been between 10−33 and 10−32 seconds after the Big Bang. The rapid expansion of space meant that any potential elementary particles (or other "unwanted" artifacts, such as topological defects) remaining from the time before inflation were now distributed very thinly across the universe. When the inflaton field reconfigured itself into the low-energy vacuum state we currently observe, the huge difference in potential energy was released in the form of a dense, hot mixture of quarks, anti-quarks and gluons as it entered the electroweak epoch.


See also

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References


External links


Inflation for Beginners
by
John Gribbin John R. Gribbin (born 19 March 1946) is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the orig ...

NASA Universe 101 What is the Inflation Theory?
{{Big Bang timeline Physical cosmology Big Bang Inflation (cosmology)