Can inflation be falsified?

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.

Note:

7 pages LaTeX file with two figures incorporated by epsf. Fifth Prize in Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition. To appear, General Relativity and Gravitation

inflation
astrophysics: string
dark matter
spectrum: perturbation
boundary condition
numerical calculations: interpretation of experiments

References(28)

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