The first second of the Universe would be different from what we thought!

The very first second of the Universe is an absolutely fascinating set of mysteries. Let us remember that in astronomy, going back in time is a routine of a banality comparable to that of looking at the street from your window. The things we see in space are so distant that their light transmits to us information dating from a sometimes very, very ancient past. This is why the space telescope James-Webb finds galaxies born shortly after the first light of the Universe.

Inflation of the Universe could be caused by space itself

Scientists, mostly Italian and from the University of Padua, propose in a recent article an innovative and elegant approach to this famous first second, especially from the period called “cosmic inflation”. The latter would be responsible for an incredibly gigantic and rapid expansion of space, as well as the appearance of the seeds of what will be stars and galaxies. It is therefore a crucial step in cosmology.

The Italian physicists propose that this inflation occurred on its own, without the addition of a particle hitherto imagined as responsible (the inflaton), and show in their short and technical paper that this is entirely possible.

What happened 13.78 billion years ago?

The theory of Big Bang was controversial until 1964 when two radio astronomers discovered by chance what can be described as his ashes and which today we call the Cosmic microwave background (FDC). This is present all around us and today it is still the most distant radiation that we can capture, dating from 380,000 years after the Big Bang. This light is in microwaves and surrounds the entire Universe at a temperature close to absolute zero.

This is one of the best proofs of the Big Bang because some physicists, including the brilliant George Gamowhad calculated that if it really took place, then the temperature of the Universe would be of this order. In short, they are the smoldering remains of the initial inferno of the cosmos.

Astrophysicists at an impasse…

The study of this crazy image of our origins has led theoretical physicists to a dead end. Indeed, the Universe was far too homogeneous for this to be the result of chance. The only valid explanation: he was very small initially, then suddenly grew by a prodigious factor between 10²⁴ and 10⁶⁰ times, i.e. 1 followed by 24 or 60 zeros. Yes, that's a lot!

To explain this inflation, scientists then introduced a new particle called inflaton, of which no trace would remain today, this field having disappeared. This is problematic to demonstrate its existence.

Imperfections, therefore galaxies

This new article, theoretical and mathematical, shows that this inflation, which we are almost certain has indeed taken place, could be explained by the very nature of space, which is subject to quantum fluctuations. The latter, by disturbing the space, generate gravitational waves which, in certain cases, can amplify and overlap. This would be the engine of the primitive inflation of the Universe.

Not only does the idea have something elegant, given that we are not using new physics or a new particle, but it would also explain the formation of the cosmic web, the first stars and galaxies. As if, by stretching a fabric very tightly, you caused imperfections and inhomogeneities here and there! Space would therefore have itself generated inflation, stars and galaxies.