| Can Inflation be Falsified? (2007) | |||||||||||||
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| 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. 1 Introduction Inflation has become a cornerstone of cosmology --- an enlargement of the hot big bang theory that is often taken for granted by theorists. But its venerated position as a paradigm creates nagging doubts about its predictiveness. Could it ever be ruled out? One of its strongest advocates, Andrei Linde, has suggested that it cannot be falsified, merely superseded by a better theory [1]. This pessimism derives in part from fifteen yea... | |||||||||||||
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