'Cosmic Inflation' Discovery Lends Key Support For Theory Of Expanding Early Universe (VIDEO)
AP | by MALCOLM RITTER
Posted: 03/17/2014 12:10 pm EDT Updated: 03/17/2014 12:59 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The universe was born almost 14 billion years ago, exploding into existence in an event called the Big Bang. Now researchers say they've spotted evidence that a split-second later, the expansion of the cosmos began with a powerful jump-start.
Experts called the discovery a major advance if confirmed by others. Although many scientists already believed that initial, extremely rapid growth spurt happened, finding this evidence has been a key goal in the study of the universe. Researchers reported Monday that they did it by peering into the faint light that remains from the Big Bang.
If verified, the discovery "gives us a window on the universe at the very beginning," when it was far less than one-trillionth of a second old, said theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University, who was not involved in the work.
"It's just amazing," he said. "You can see back to the beginning of time."
Another outside expert, physicist Alan Guth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the finding already suggests that some ideas about the rapid expansion of the universe can be ruled out.
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