Can Inflation be Falsified?
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2015-06-25 v1 Astrophysics
Abstract
Despite its central role in modern cosmology, doubts are often expressed as to whether cosmological inflation is really a falsifiable theory. We distinguish two facets of inflation, one as a theory of initial conditions for the hot big bang and the other as a model for the origin of structure in the Universe. We argue that the latter can readily be excluded by observations, and that there are also a number of ways in which the former can find itself in conflict with observational data. Both aspects of the theory are indeed falsifiable.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.gr-qc/9705048,
title = {Can Inflation be Falsified?},
author = {John D Barrow and Andrew R Liddle},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/9705048},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
7 pages LaTeX file with two figures incorporated by epsf. Fifth Prize in Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition. To appear, General Relativity and Gravitation