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Can Inflation be Falsified?

John D Barrow·Andrew R Liddle
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Abstract

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.

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John D Barrow, Andrew R Liddle. 1997-05-19. Can Inflation be Falsified?. https://doi.org/10.1023/a%3A1018826228212

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