Inflationary epoch

In physical cosmology the inflationary epoch was the period in the evolution of the early universe 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 (10−9 m, about half the width of a molecule of DNA) in length to one approximately 10.6 light years (about 62 trillion miles) long.

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Description

The expansion is thought to have been triggered by the phase transition that marked the end of the preceding grand unification epoch at approximately 10−36 seconds after the Big Bang. One of the theoretical products of this phase transition was a scalar field called the inflaton field. As this field settled into its lowest energy state throughout the universe, it generated a repulsive force that led to a rapid expansion of space. This expansion explains various properties of the current universe that are difficult to account for without such an inflationary epoch.

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 elementary particles remaining from the grand unification epoch were now distributed very thinly across the universe. However, the huge potential energy of the inflaton field was released at the end of the inflationary epoch, repopulating the universe with a dense, hot mixture of quarks, anti-quarks and gluons as it entered the electroweak epoch.

Detection via polarization of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation

One approach to confirming the inflationary epoch is to directly measure its effect on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. The CMB is very weakly polarized (to a level of a few μK) in two different modes called K-mode and B-mode (analogous to the E-field and B-field in electrostatics). The E-mode polarization comes from ordinary Thomson scattering, but the B-mode may be created by two mechanisms: 1) from gravitational lensing of E-modes; or 2) from gravitational waves arising from cosmic inflation. If B-mode polarization from gravitational waves can be measured, it would provide direct evidence supporting cosmic inflation and could eliminate or support various inflation models based on the level detected.

On 17 March 2014, astrophysicists of the BICEP2 collaboration announced the detection of B-mode polarization attributed to inflationary-related gravitational waves, which seemed to support cosmological inflation and the Big Bang,[1][2][3][4][5] however, on 19 June 2014 they lowered the confidence level that the B-mode measurements were actually from gravitational waves and not from background noise from dust.[6][7][8]

The Planck spacecraft has instruments that measure the CMB radiation to a high degree of sensitivity (57 nK). After the BICEP finding, scientists from both projects worked together to further analyze the data from both projects. That analysis concluded to a high degree of certainty that the original BICEP signal can be entirely attributed to dust in the Milky Way and therefore doesn't provide evidence one way or the other to support the theory of the inflationary epoch.[9][10][11][12]

See also

Notes
  1. Staff (17 March 2014). "BICEP2 2014 Results Release". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2014.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Clavin, Whitney (17 March 2014). "NASA Technology Views Birth of the universe". NASA. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  3. Overbye, Dennis (17 March 2014). "Detection of Waves in Space Buttresses Landmark Theory of Big Bang". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  4. Ade, P. A. R.; Aikin, R. W.; Barkats, D.; Benton, S. J.; Bischoff, C. A.; Bock, J. J.; Brevik, J. A.; Buder, I.; Bullock, E.; Dowell, C. D.; Duband, L.; Filippini, J. P.; Fliescher, S.; Golwala, S. R.; Halpern, M.; Hasselfield, M.; Hildebrandt, S. R.; Hilton, G. C.; Hristov, V. V.; Irwin, K. D.; Karkare, K. S.; Kaufman, J. P.; Keating, B. G.; Kernasovskiy, S. A.; Kovac, J. M.; Kuo, C. L.; Leitch, E. M.; Lueker, M.; Mason, P.; Netterfield, C. B.; Nguyen, H. T.; O'Brient, R.; Ogburn, R. W. IV; Orlando, A.; Pryke, C.; Reintsema, C. D.; Richter, S.; Schwartz, R.; Sheehy, C. D.; Staniszewski, Z. K.; Sudiwala, R. W.; Teply, G. P.; Tolan, J. E.; Turner, A. D.; Vieregg, A. G.; Wong, C. L.; Yoon, K. W. (17 March 2014). "BICEP2 I: Detection of B-mode Polarization at Degree Angular Scales" (PDF). Phys Rev Lett. 112 (24): 241101. arXiv:1403.3985. Bibcode:2014PhRvL.112x1101B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.241101. PMID 24996078. S2CID 22780831. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2014.
  5. Woit, Peter (13 May 2014). "BICEP2 News". Not Even Wrong. Columbia University. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  6. Overbye, Dennis (19 June 2014). "Astronomers Hedge on Big Bang Detection Claim". New York Times. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  7. Amos, Jonathan (19 June 2014). "Cosmic inflation: Confidence lowered for Big Bang signal". BBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  8. Ade, P.A.R. et al. (BICEP2 Collaboration) (19 June 2014). "Detection of B-Mode Polarization at Degree Angular Scales by BICEP2". Physical Review Letters. 112 (24): 241101. arXiv:1403.3985. Bibcode:2014PhRvL.112x1101B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.241101. PMID 24996078. S2CID 22780831.
  9. Planck Collaboration (2016). "Planck intermediate results. XXX. The angular power spectrum of polarized dust emission at intermediate and high Galactic latitudes". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 586 (133): A133. arXiv:1409.5738. Bibcode:2016A&A...586A.133P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201425034. S2CID 9857299.
  10. Overbye, D. (22 September 2014). "Study Confirms Criticism of Big Bang Finding". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
  11. Cowen, Ron (30 January 2015). "Gravitational waves discovery now officially dead". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2015.16830. S2CID 124938210.
  12. BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck Collaborations (2015). "Joint Analysis of BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck Data". Physical Review Letters. 114 (10): 101301. arXiv:1502.00612. Bibcode:2015PhRvL.114j1301B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.101301. PMID 25815919. S2CID 218078264.

References
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