Inflation of Early Cosmos Explains the Big Bang and Birth of the Young Universe

Radio telescopes placed on the South Pole may have provided scientists with answers about the birth of our universe and the first direct evidence of cosmic inflation, which occurred shortly after the Big Bang.

The birth of our universe, which occurred about 13.8 billion years ago, is believed to have been caused by cosmic inflation, which was the mysterious and rapid expansion of the universe a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. During the inflation, the universe morphed from the tiny size of an atom to 100 trillion trillion times that size faster than the speed of light.

The project that made this discovery, called BICEP2, or Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization, uncovered the first direct data for the creation of the universe, which previously was only based on theories. The researchers and scientists from Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Stanford University, and the University of Minnesota, submitted their findings for publication to the journal Nature.

Their findings focus on the role of gravitational waves in the creation of the universe. The waves were apparently in abundance during the time of the Big Bang, which stretched and squeezed the fabric of space, enabling the massive expansion that ensued shortly thereafter. The radio telescopes in the South Pole helped the scientists observe the cosmic microwave background radiation, or the faint background light leftover from the Big Bang that is seen throughout the universe.

The new evidence builds off of other theories and observations, such as Einstein's theory of general relativity as well as Alan Guth's assertion from 1980 that the universe was a single tiny spot before it violently expanded into what it is today.

"It's amazing," said experimental cosmologist John Carlstrom of the University of Chicago, in this LA Times article. "Everyone in my field, what we're thinking of doing in the future, we have to all rethink. This is an amazing milestone." Carlstom is leading a competing South Pole Telescope project.

To read more about the new discoveries about the birth of our univerise, visit this Wall Street Journal article as well.