Inflation, comoving Hubble radius and particle horizon

In summary, the conversation discusses the formulation of the mechanism of inflation and the role of the particle horizon and comoving Hubble radius in the early universe. The speaker is confused about the requirement of ## \frac{1}{aH} \ll \chi_p## and the relationship between the shrinking comoving Hubble radius and the overlapping particle horizons. The explanation provided is that the shrinking comoving Hubble radius is a consequence of the accelerated rate of expansion and is necessary to solve the horizon problem. The requirement of inflation is necessary to provide the extra room for the overlapping particle horizons.
  • #1
JJNic
4
0
I have a question regarding the exact formulation of the mechanism of Inflation.

In thehttp://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/db275/Cosmology/Lectures.pdf he uses ##\frac{d}{dt} \frac{1}{aH} < 0## as an definition of inflation. I see that it yields ## \ddot a > 0##, but my confusion lies in the interplay between the particle horizon and the comoving Hubble radius.
Why do we require ## \frac{1}{aH} \ll \chi_p## in the early universe? He says
This means that particles can’t communicate now (or when the CMB was created), but were in causal contact early on.
But i don't see how that goes about.I am especially confused by figure 2.3 on page 33 (i cropped and attached it for your convenience),
Screen Shot 2015-12-01 at 17.30.41.png


I see that the horizon problem gets solved because the points p and q now have overlapping particle horizons, but what does the comoving Hubble sphere have to do with it?
They would still have overlapping particle horizons if i did not draw the Hubble sphere or if i drew it differently. Or is it not possible to have both things at the same time? (a different Hubble sphere AND overlapping particle horizons of p and q).
To me it just seems that "adding more conformal time before the initial singularity and shift it to -inf. or less" s.t. p and q have overlapping particle horizons would do the job just fine, not worrying about the comoving Hubble radius.So, i am obviously missing something, but what is it?

Thanks!
 
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  • #2
The shrinking comoving Hubble radius is a consequence of the accelerated rate of expansion, and nothing more. Indeed, simply "adding more conformal time before the initial singularity..." is all you need to ensure that the particle horizons overlap, but there is no room to simply "add more" in the standard cosmology. We must postulate a period of inflation to give us the extra room, and the shrinking comoving Hubble scale is a result of this requirement.
 

1. What is inflation and how does it relate to the universe's expansion?

Inflation is the rapid expansion of the universe in the first few moments after the Big Bang. It is thought to have occurred due to a rapid increase in the energy density of the universe. This expansion is believed to have smoothed out irregularities in the early universe and set the stage for the universe we see today.

2. What is the comoving Hubble radius and how is it calculated?

The comoving Hubble radius is a measure of the distance that light can travel in the expanding universe. It is calculated by dividing the speed of light by the Hubble constant, which is a measure of the rate at which the universe is expanding.

3. How does the comoving Hubble radius relate to the observable universe?

The comoving Hubble radius is often used as a measure of the size of the observable universe. This is because it represents the distance that light can travel since the beginning of the universe, which is the farthest we can see with our current technology.

4. What is the particle horizon and how is it different from the comoving Hubble radius?

The particle horizon is the maximum distance that light can travel in the expanding universe before it is redshifted beyond detection. This is different from the comoving Hubble radius, which is a measure of the current distance that light can travel.

5. How do these concepts impact our understanding of the universe's age and size?

The concepts of inflation, comoving Hubble radius, and particle horizon are all important in understanding the age and size of the universe. Inflation helps explain the rapid expansion of the early universe and how it became so large. The comoving Hubble radius and particle horizon give us a way to measure the size of the observable universe and understand its age and expansion rate. These concepts are constantly being refined as we continue to learn more about the universe.

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