Speaker: Vincent Vennin
Cosmological Inflation is the leading paradigm for explaining the
physical conditions that prevailed in the early Universe. It consists
in a phase of very high energy accelerated expansion that solves
the hot big bang model problems. When combined with Quantum
Mechanics, it also provides a causal mechanism for generating
cosmological fluctuations on large scales. In this talk I will review
the main aspects of the inflationary scenario, and I will explain what
the most up-to-date cosmological observations tell us about the
underlying physics. I will show how the Bayesian model comparison
approach can be used to extract the favoured models among hundreds
of proposed scenarios. I will also insist on the role played by reheating, which
connects inflation with the subsequent radiation era, and during which
ordinary matter as we see it today is produced. Finally, Il will show some
prospects regarding future missions and discuss what will be able to achieve
in the next decades.
