An alternative to inflation (Q1863115)

One of the most popular models in cosmology is `inflation' -- the idea that the universe underwent an accelerated expansion at a very early time. It is generally believed that the occurrence of inflation can explain why the present universe is approximately homogeneous and isotropic as well as spatially flat. The present authors argue that this explanation is only partial, since the occurrence of inflation itself needs some special initial conditions which cannot yet be treated within an existing physical theory. The main merit of inflation is that it can provide a causal scenario for structure formation out of the ubiquitous quantum fluctuations. This is accepted by the authors, but they point out that non-inflationary models exist which can also generate the desired power spectrum for the primordial fluctuations. The rough features of such an alternative to inflation are outlined. A major input is that certain modes of cosmological interest are not created simultaneously at the Planck time, but continuously over a period of time including much earlier times.