Inflation (cosmology)

In cosmology, "inflation" refers to a rapid expansion of the universe that is believed to have occurred in the first few moments after the Big Bang, specifically between approximately \(10^{-36}\) seconds and \(10^{-32}\) seconds after the event. This theory was proposed in the early 1980s by physicist Alan Guth and later developed by others. The key features of cosmic inflation include: 1. **Exponential Expansion**: During inflation, the universe expanded exponentially.