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The inflaton is a hypothetical scalar field〔http://bicepkeck.org/b2_respap_arxiv_v1.pdf〕 that is supposed to be responsible for cosmic inflation in the very early universe. A quantized particle for this field is expected, similar to other quantum fields, called an ''inflaton''. The field provides a mechanism by which a period of rapid expansion from 10−35 to 10−34 seconds after the initial expansion can be generated, forming the universe. The basic process of inflation consists of three steps: # Prior to the expansion period, the inflaton field was at a higher-energy state. # Random quantum fluctuations triggered a phase transition whereby the inflaton field released its potential energy as matter and radiation as it settled to its lowest-energy state. # This action generated a repulsive force that drove the portion of the universe that is observable to us today to expand from approximately 10−50 metres in radius at 10−35 seconds to almost 1 metre in radius at 10−34 seconds. The inflaton field's lowest energy state may or may not be a zero energy state. This depends on the ''chosen'' potential energy density of the field. The term ''inflaton'' was derived from ''inflation'' following the typical naming style of other quantum fields such as photon, gluon, boson and fermion. The term was first used in a paper entitled ‘After Primordial Inflation’ by, D.V. Nanopoulos, K.A. Olive and M. Srednicki.〔(Nanopoulos, D.V., Olive, K.A., Srednicki, M. (July 1983) “After Primordial Inflation” Physics Letters )〕 It is suggested that the Higgs boson might act as the inflaton. ==See also== * Metric expansion of space * Hubble's law * Big bang * Cosmological constant * Inflation (cosmology) * Non-minimally coupled inflation 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「inflaton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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