The discussion centers on the concept of "e-folding" in cosmology, which quantifies the expansion of the universe by a factor of e, the base of the natural logarithm. E-foldings are utilized to measure the amount of expansion before or after significant events, such as the end of cosmic inflation. The logarithmic nature of this measurement is particularly useful due to the universe's history of numerous near-doublings in size. Participants clarify that e-folding does not imply a specific nature of expansion but serves as a convenient metric for understanding cosmic growth.
PREREQUISITESAstronomers, cosmologists, physics students, and anyone interested in the mathematical frameworks used to describe the expansion of the universe.
I am just trying to work out how scientist discovered that the universe expanded logarithmic ally.bapowell said:An "e-folding" is just an increase by a factor of e, the base of the natural logarithm. In cosmology, we often speak of e-foldings of expansion as a means of quantifying the amount of expansion before or after some event (e.g. the number of efolds before the end of inflation is a common time coordinate in inflation calculations). What specifically did you have a question about?
What do you mean by "expanded logarithmically"? The use of the e-fold as a measure of the amount of expansion should not be taken to imply anything about the nature of the expansion. Since the universe has gone through many, many near-doublings in size since its beginning, the use of a logarithmic measure for the amount of expansion is especially convenient.wolram said:I am just trying to work out how scientist discovered that the universe expanded logarithmic ally.