All About Space

ASK Space

“A period of rapid expansion, ‘cosmic inflation’, likely happened before the hot Big Bang”

COSMOLOGY

Could dark matter have existed before the Big Bang?

Depends on what is meant by the Big Bang. If it refers to a hypothetical ‘Big Bang singularity’ where time began, then no. If it refers to the ‘hot Big Bang’, then the answer can be yes.

What cosmologists mean by the term is the state in which the universe was 13.8 billion years ago. At that point the universe was compressed into a tiny volume, hence its matter content – the matter that today comprises galaxies, stars, planets and us – was very dense and hot. This ‘hot Big Bang’ state left behind an afterglow that cosmologists now call ‘cosmic microwave background radiation’. By measuring it we can directly see an image of the Big Bang and deduce what happened during it.

However, it is possible that there were epochs that preceded the hot Big Bang era. For example, a period of rapid expansion dubbed ‘cosmic inflation’ likely happened before the hot Big Bang. That

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from All About Space

All About Space3 min read
All About Space
Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA Editorial Editor Gemma Lavender gemma.lavender@futurenet.com Art Editor Jonathan Wells Production Editor Nikole Robinson Senior Art Editor Duncan Crook Contributors William Alston, Stuart Atkinson, Ine
All About Space4 min read
Solar Maximum May Help Solve The Sun’s Gamma-ray Puzzle
While examining 14 years of data from NASA’s Fermi Space Telescope, a team of researchers discovered that during the last solar maximum in 2013 and 2014, the polar regions of the Sun blasted out high-energy gamma-ray radiation that was as much as ten
All About Space16 min read
Become An Astronomer
Arich, diverse and rewarding selection of celestial delights await those who take the time to get to know the night A skies. Last issue we saw how you can take your first steps in exploring the amazing variety of objects and phenomena visible in the

Related Books & Audiobooks