Hypothetical field that may have driven cosmic inflation
This article is about a particle/quantum field posited in cosmology. For a general rise in the level of prices, see Inflation. For other uses of "inflation", see Inflation (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Instanton.
The inflaton field is a hypothetical scalar field which is conjectured to have driven cosmic inflation in the very early universe.[1][2][3]
The field, originally postulated by Alan Guth,[1] provides a mechanism by which a period of rapid expansion from 10−35 to 10−34 seconds after the initial expansion can be generated, forming a universe consistent with observed spatial isotropy and homogeneity.
^ abGuth, Alan H. (1997). The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins. Basic Books. pp. 233–234. ISBN 978-0201328400.
^Steinhardt, Paul J.; Turok, Neil (2007). Endless Universe: Beyond the Bang. Random House. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-7679-1501-4.
^Steinhardt, Paul J. (April 2011). "Inflation Debate: Is the theory at the heart of modern cosmology deeply flawed?" (PDF). Scientific American. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
The inflaton field is a hypothetical scalar field which is conjectured to have driven cosmic inflation in the very early universe. The field, originally...
where quantum fluctuation pushed the inflaton value up more than the slow inflation decay rate brought the inflaton value down. Originally there was one...
other hypothetical scalar fields suggested by other theories, from the inflaton to quintessence, could perhaps exist as well. There has been considerable...
inflationary epoch. Most inflationary models propose a scalar field called the inflaton field, with properties necessary for having (at least) two vacuum states...
constant, thought to correspond to dark energy in our universe or the inflaton field in the early universe. According to the models of inflation and current...
approximately 10−32 seconds after the Big Bang when the potential energy of the inflaton field that had driven the inflation of the universe during the inflationary...
instead it generates curvature perturbations at late times after the inflaton field has decayed and the decay products have redshifted away, when the...
Ginzburg–Landau and BCS theories of superconductivity. Other examples include the inflaton field in certain models of cosmic inflation (such as new inflation), and...
"preheating" mechanisms after inflation involving energy transfer from inflaton particles to regular matter, cosmological phase transitions in the early...
having increased by a factor of at least 1078. Reheating followed as the inflaton field decayed, until the universe obtained the temperatures required for...
The remaining irregularities were caused by quantum fluctuations in the inflaton field that caused the inflation event. Long before the formation of stars...
potential function that is crucial to determining the dynamics of the inflaton is simply postulated, but not derived from an underlying physical theory...
occurred at a time of around 10−32 seconds. It would have been driven by the inflaton, a field that has a positive-energy false vacuum state. Inflation was originally...
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