Origins of the universe - Inflationary cosmology

The presentation is by the 3rd team by Julie Jacob Thomas, Nagashree S, and Srinidhi Murali.

Abstract:- The big bang theory has been widely regarded as the best model to explain the evolution of the universe. The theory is supported by strong observational evidence of high accuracy, particularly in the form of the cosmic microwave background radiation. However, the big bang model could not explain a few key characteristics of the present-day universe, namely its homogeneity (smoothness) at large scales and its flatness. In the cosmology community, these are referred to as the Horizon Problem and the Flatness Problem. Both of these are fine-tuning problems, problems that require initial conditions of the universe to be fine-tuned to extremely high degrees of precision that even a tiny fraction of a deviation from these conditions could result in a completely different universe than what we know today. In an attempt to explain these, Alan Guth came up with the 'Inflation theory' which provided slight modifications to the big bang theory. It spoke of an exponential expansion of space-time at the beginning of the universe. This assumption was enough to solve a number of problems, including the above-mentioned. This paper is an attempt at understanding the structure of cosmic inflation, and how it is able to solve the two problems in a simple, yet intriguing fashion.

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