eternal inflation
E84392
Eternal inflation is a cosmological theory proposing that the rapid expansion of space continues indefinitely in some regions, constantly spawning new "bubble" universes with potentially different physical properties.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
cosmological theory
→
inflationary cosmology model → multiverse theory → |
| aimsToExplain |
apparent fine-tuning of cosmological parameters
→
initial conditions of our observable universe → |
| basedOn |
false vacuum decay
→
inflationary expansion driven by a scalar field → quantum fluctuations of the inflaton field → |
| considered |
difficult to falsify
→
speculative → |
| describes |
ongoing exponential expansion of space in some regions
→
|
| developedBy |
Alexander Vilenkin
→
Andrei Linde → Paul Steinhardt → |
| hasKeyConcept |
bubble nucleation
→
cosmic no-hair conjecture → false vacuum → inflaton field → landscape of vacua → measure problem → pocket universes → quantum tunneling → self-reproducing universe → true vacuum → |
| hasOpenProblem |
defining probabilities over infinite multiverse
→
measure problem in probability assignments → observational testability → |
| implies |
different bubble universes can have different low-energy constants
→
different bubble universes can have different physical properties → different bubble universes can have different vacuum states → existence of a multiverse → formation of multiple bubble universes → inflation ends locally in bubble regions → space never stops inflating globally → universe is much larger than observable universe → |
| involves |
quantum field theory in curved spacetime
→
semi-classical gravity → |
| predicts |
bubble collisions in principle
→
existence of regions with different effective laws of physics → fractal-like global structure of spacetime → unending creation of new inflating regions → |
| proposedBy |
Alan Guth
→
|
| relatedTo |
anthropic principle
→
chaotic inflation → cosmic inflation → cosmological constant problem → fine-tuning problem in cosmology → new inflation → string theory landscape → |
| timePeriod |
1980s
→
|
Referenced by (1)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Alan Guth
→
|
notableIdea |