Inflation Theory is an extension of the Big Bang model. It was created to answer certain questions that arose from observations inconsistent with or unexplained by the Big Bang. Basically, Inflation Theory talks about a period of very rapid expansion before a relatively gradual one.
The Big Bang Theory is consistent with many observations that we have today like the movement of galaxies away from each other (expansion), confirmed by red shifts, and the detection of the CMBR (cosmic microwave background radiation). However, there are other observations that don’t fit into the puzzle.
Let me walk you through two of these observations as well as point out how Inflation Theory provides the necessary adjustments to make them fit into the Big Bang model.
First, measurements by the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) show a universe geometry that doesn’t coincide with more probable predictions of a Big Bang model. Supposedly, curvature would have increased as time progressed. WMAP measurements however reveal a geometry that’s nearly flat.
By factoring in an extremely rapid expansion, we can understand how the Universe might have actually grown so large that it would appear flat from our point of view. It’s like standing on the surface of the Earth. We know that the Earth is spherical but when we look all around us, it is as flat as far as our eyes can see.
Second, when we measure the distances between two of the farthest points located at opposite sides of the cosmos, they appear to be too far apart when compared with the distance that should be separating them. The expected separation is based on the current rate of expansion and the Big Bang model that suggests them to have been initially in contact.
That they could have actually been in contact is consistent with the near-uniformity of CMB temperature readings.
Once again, if we factor in inflation, and subsequently the idea that there must have been an exponential bust of expansion, the wide separations can be explained. Furthermore, inflation also explains how they could have been in contact and hence achieved the near-uniform temperature we’re now detecting.
Scientists are still not sure whether the entity that caused inflation is the same entity that’s driving accelerated expansions particularly in the outer regions of the Universe today. I’m referring to dark energy. Although it definitely looks almost like it, some scientists believe that whatever caused inflation only existed within that brief period of time and hence could not be dark energy.
We’ve got a few articles touching on the Inflation Theory here in Universe Today. Here are two of them:
- Cosmologists Search for Gravity Waves to Prove Inflation Theory
- Inflation Theory Takes a Little Kick in the Pants
NASA also has some more:
- What is the Inflation Theory?
- Inflation in the Universe
Tired eyes? Let your ears help you learn for a change. Here are some episodes from Astronomy Cast that just might suit your taste:
Source: NASA
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