Cosmic Inflation and Big Bang Ripples
The imprint of gravitational waves created shortly after the big bang may offer direct evidence for inflation theory, according to a discovery by the BICEP2 experiment at the South Pole
Gravity Waves from Big Bang Detected
A curved signature in the cosmic microwave background light provides proof of inflation and spacetime ripples
Big Bang Ripples Makes Waves in Cosmology: Now What?
The shock waves are still reverberating from BICEP2's bombshell announcement that they've discovered the holy grail of cosmology: the telltale signature of gravitational waves from inflation...
New View of Primordial Universe Confirms Sudden "Inflation" after Big Bang
The Planck space telescope's picture of the cosmic microwave background sheds fresh light on the first instants following the birth of the universe, and suggests that it's about 80 million years older than previously thought...
Long-Predicted Polarization Detected in the Cosmic Microwave Background
The B-mode polarization signal provides a way for astronomers to calculate neutrino masses, as well as to chase a class of "primordial" B-modes that could be used to confirm inflation
The Man Who Put the "Big" in "Big Bang": Alan Guth on Inflation
On the night of December 6, 1979--32 years ago today--Alan Guth had the “spectacular realization” that would soon turn cosmology on its head. He imagined a mind-bogglingly brief event, at the very beginning of the big bang, during which the entire universe expanded exponentially, going from microscopic to cosmic size...
Primordial Gravitational Waves Provide a Test of Cosmological Theories
Cosmic inflation may have left a telltale imprint on the universe that could be detected in the coming years
Brief Timeline of String and Inflationary Cosmology
Echoes from the Big Bang
Scientists may soon glimpse the universe's beginnings by studying the subtle ripples made by gravitational waves
The Self-Reproducing Inflationary Universe
Recent versions of the inflationary scenario describe the universe as a self-generating fractal that sprouts other inflationary universes
The Inflationary Universe
A new theory of cosmology suggests that the observable universe is embedded in a much larger region of space that had an extraordinary growth spurt a fraction of a second after the primordial big bang...
Antarctic Experiments Back Cosmic Inflation Theory
Special Offer: Cosmic Inflation Archive Collection
Scientific American editor-in- chief Mariette DiChristina has curated this collection, featuring 3 provocative articles from Scientific American’s archive: Andrei Linde, “The Self-Reproducing Inflationary Universe,” November, 1994; Paul Steinhardt, “The Inflation Debate,” April 2011, and Paul Steinhardt and Alan Guth, “The Inflationary Universe.” Only $9.99...
How Cosmic Inflation Creates an Infinity of Universes [Video]
Stars of Cosmology, Part 1
In part 1 of this podcast, cosmologists Alan Guth from M.I.T., Arizona State University's Lawrence Krauss, John Carlstrom from the University of Chicago, and Fermilab's Scott Dodelson discuss the state of cosmology--and the universe's possible dismal future--at a press conference at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago on February 16th...
Stars of Cosmology, Part 2
In part 2 of this podcast, cosmologists Alan Guth from M.I.T., Arizona State University's Lawrence Krauss, John Carlstrom from the University of Chicago, and Fermilab's Scott Dodelson take reporters' questions at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago on February 16th...
Shocked Physicist Learns His Big Bang Theory Is True [Video]
Few people were as thrilled with the big physics news today as physicist Andrei Linde. One of the main authors of inflation theory--the idea that the universe expanded incredibly rapidly just after it was born in the big bang--Linde has reason to be excited...
5 Essential Facts about Gravitational Waves from the Big Bang - The Countdown #44
On March 17th, physicists with the BICEP2 experiment announced they had detected the remnant of gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background, the light left over from the big bang...
