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Big Bang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Big Bang theory" redirects here. For the American TV sitcom, see The Big Bang Theory. For other
uses, see Big Bang (disambiguation).

The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the
universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent
large-scale evolution.[1][2][3] The model accounts for the fact that
the universe expanded from a very high density and high
temperature state,[4][5] and offers a comprehensive explanation for
a broad range of observed phenomena, including the abundance
of light elements, the cosmic microwave background, large scale
structure, and Hubble's Law.[6] If the known laws of physics are
extrapolated beyond where they are valid, there is a singularity.
Modern measurements place this moment at approximately 13.8
billion years ago, which is thus considered the age of the
universe.[7] After the initial expansion, the universe cooled
According to the Big Bang model, the
sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later
universe expanded from an extremely dense
simple atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements later
and hot state and continues to expand today.
coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies.

Since Georges Lemaître first noted, in 1927, that an expanding universe might be traced back in time to an
originating single point, scientists have built on his idea of cosmic expansion. While the scientific community was
once divided between supporters of two different expanding universe theories, the Big Bang and the Steady State
theory, accumulated empirical evidence provides strong support for the former.[8] In 1929, from analysis of galactic
redshifts, Edwin Hubble concluded that galaxies are drifting apart, important observational evidence consistent with
the hypothesis of an expanding universe. In 1964, the cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered,
which was crucial evidence in favor of the Big Bang model, since that theory predicted the existence of background
radiation throughout the universe before it was discovered. More recently, measurements of the redshifts of
supernovae indicate that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, an observation attributed to dark energy's
existence.[9] The known physical laws of nature can be used to calculate the characteristics of the universe in detail
back in time to an initial state of extreme density and temperature.[10][11][12]

Contents
1 Overview
2 Timeline of the Big Bang
2.1 Singularity
2.2 Inflation and baryogenesis
2.3 Cooling
2.4 Structure formation
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2.4 Structure formation

2.5 Cosmic acceleration
3 Underlying assumptions
3.1 Expansion of space
3.2 Horizons
4 History
4.1 Etymology
4.2 Development
5 Observational evidence
5.1 Hubble's law and the expansion of space
5.2 Cosmic microwave background radiation
5.3 Abundance of primordial elements
5.4 Galactic evolution and distribution
5.5 Primordial gas clouds
5.6 Other lines of evidence
6 Problems and related issues in physics
6.1 Baryon asymmetry
6.2 Dark energy
6.3 Dark matter
6.4 Horizon problem
6.5 Magnetic monopoles
6.6 Flatness problem
7 The future according to the Big Bang theory
8 Before: Speculative physics beyond the Big Bang theory
9 Religious and philosophical interpretations
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
12.1 Books
13 Further reading
14 External links

Overview
Hubble observed that the distances to faraway galaxies were strongly correlated with their redshifts. This was
interpreted to mean that all distant galaxies and clusters are receding away from our vantage point with an apparent
velocity proportional to their distance: that is, the farther they are, the faster they move away from us, regardless of
direction.[17] Assuming the Copernican principle (that the Earth is not the center of the universe), the only remaining
interpretation is that all observable regions of the universe are receding from all others. Since we know that the
distance between galaxies increases today, it must mean that in the past galaxies were closer together. The
continuous expansion of the universe implies that the universe was denser and hotter in the past.

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Large particle accelerators can replicate the conditions that prevailed after the early moments of the universe,
resulting in confirmation and refinement of the details of the Big Bang model. However, these accelerators can only
probe so far into high energy regimes. Consequently, the state of the universe in the earliest instants of the Big Bang
expansion is still poorly understood and an area of open investigation and indeed, speculation.

The first subatomic particles included protons, neutrons, and electrons. Though simple atomic nuclei formed within
the first three minutes after the Big Bang, thousands of years passed before the first electrically neutral atoms
formed. The majority of atoms produced by the Big Bang were hydrogen, along with helium and traces of lithium.
Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies, and the heavier
elements were synthesized either within stars or during supernovae.

The Big Bang theory offers a comprehensive explanation for a

broad range of observed phenomena, including the abundance
of light elements, the cosmic microwave background, large scale
structure, and Hubble's Law.[6] The framework for the Big
Bang model relies on Albert Einstein's theory of general
relativity and on simplifying assumptions such as homogeneity
and isotropy of space. The governing equations were
formulated by Alexander Friedmann, and similar solutions were
worked on by Willem de Sitter. Since then, astrophysicists have
incorporated observational and theoretical additions into the Big
Bang model, and its parametrization as the Lambda-CDM
model serves as the framework for current investigations of
theoretical cosmology. The Lambda-CDM model is the History of the Universe - gravitational waves
standard model of Big Bang cosmology, the simplest model that are hypothesized to arise from cosmic inflation,
provides a reasonably good account of various observations an expansion just after the Big
about the universe. Bang. [13][14][15][16]

Timeline of the Big Bang A graphical timeline is available at

External
Graphical timeline of the Big
Timeline
Main article: Timeline of the Big Bang Bang

Singularity

See also: Gravitational singularity and Planck epoch

Extrapolation of the expansion of the universe backwards in time using general relativity yields an infinite density and
temperature at a finite time in the past.[18] This singularity signals the breakdown of general relativity and thus, all the
laws of physics. How closely we can extrapolate towards the singularity is debated—certainly no closer than the
end of the Planck epoch. This singularity is sometimes called "the Big Bang",[19] but the term can also refer to the
early hot, dense phase itself,[20][notes 1] which can be considered the "birth" of our universe. Based on
measurements of the expansion using Type Ia supernovae, measurements of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic
microwave background, and measurements of the correlation function of galaxies, the universe has an estimated age
of 13.798 ± 0.037 billion years.[21] The agreement of these three independent measurements strongly supports the
ΛCDM model that describes in detail the contents of the universe.

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Inflation and baryogenesis

Main articles: Cosmic inflation and baryogenesis

The earliest phases of the Big Bang are subject to much speculation. In the most common models the universe was
filled homogeneously and isotropically with a very high energy density and huge temperatures and pressures and
was very rapidly expanding and cooling. Approximately 10−37 seconds into the expansion, a phase transition
caused a cosmic inflation, during which the universe grew exponentially.[22] After inflation stopped, the universe
consisted of a quark–gluon plasma, as well as all other elementary particles.[23] Temperatures were so high that the
random motions of particles were at relativistic speeds, and particle–antiparticle pairs of all kinds were being
continuously created and destroyed in collisions.[4] At some point an unknown reaction called baryogenesis violated
the conservation of baryon number, leading to a very small excess of quarks and leptons over antiquarks and
antileptons—of the order of one part in 30 million. This resulted in the predominance of matter over antimatter in
the present universe.[24]

Cooling

Main articles: Big Bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background radiation

The universe continued to decrease in density and

fall in temperature, hence the typical energy of each
particle was decreasing. Symmetry breaking phase
transitions put the fundamental forces of physics
and the parameters of elementary particles into their
present form.[25] After about 10−11 seconds, the
picture becomes less speculative, since particle
energies drop to values that can be attained in
particle physics experiments. At about 10−6
Panoramic view of the entire near-infrared sky reveals the seconds, quarks and gluons combined to form
distribution of galaxies beyond the Milky Way. Galaxies are baryons such as protons and neutrons. The small
color-coded by redshift. excess of quarks over antiquarks led to a small
excess of baryons over antibaryons. The
temperature was now no longer high enough to
create new proton–antiproton pairs (similarly for neutrons–antineutrons), so a mass annihilation immediately
followed, leaving just one in 1010 of the original protons and neutrons, and none of their antiparticles. A similar
process happened at about 1 second for electrons and positrons. After these annihilations, the remaining protons,
neutrons and electrons were no longer moving relativistically and the energy density of the universe was dominated
by photons (with a minor contribution from neutrinos).

A few minutes into the expansion, when the temperature was about a billion (one thousand million; 109; SI prefix
giga-) kelvin and the density was about that of air, neutrons combined with protons to form the universe's deuterium
and helium nuclei in a process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis.[26] Most protons remained uncombined as
hydrogen nuclei. As the universe cooled, the rest mass energy density of matter came to gravitationally dominate
that of the photon radiation. After about 379,000 years the electrons and nuclei combined into atoms (mostly
hydrogen); hence the radiation decoupled from matter and continued through space largely unimpeded. This relic
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radiation is known as the cosmic microwave background radiation.[27] The chemistry of life may have begun shortly
after the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago, during a habitable epoch when the universe was only 10–17 million years
old.[28][29][30]

Structure formation

Main article: Structure formation

Over a long period of time, the slightly denser regions of the nearly uniformly distributed matter gravitationally
attracted nearby matter and thus grew even denser, forming gas clouds, stars, galaxies, and the other astronomical
structures observable today.[4] The details of this process depend on the amount and type of matter in the universe.
The four possible types of matter are known as cold dark matter, warm dark matter, hot dark matter, and baryonic
matter. The best measurements available (from WMAP) show that the data is well-fit by a Lambda-CDM model in
which dark matter is assumed to be cold (warm dark matter is ruled out by early reionization[31]), and is estimated
to make up about 23% of the matter/energy of the universe, while baryonic matter makes up about 4.6%.[32] In an
"extended model" which includes hot dark matter in the form of neutrinos, then if the "physical baryon density" Ωb h2
is estimated at about 0.023 (this is different from the 'baryon density' Ωb expressed as a fraction of the total
matter/energy density, which as noted above is about 0.046), and the corresponding cold dark matter density Ωch2
is about 0.11, the corresponding neutrino density Ωv h2 is estimated to be less than 0.0062.[32]

Cosmic acceleration

Main article: Accelerating universe

Independent lines of evidence from Type Ia supernovae and the CMB imply that the
universe today is dominated by a mysterious form of energy known as dark energy,
which apparently permeates all of space. The observations suggest 73% of the total
energy density of today's universe is in this form. When the universe was very young,
it was likely infused with dark energy, but with less space and everything closer
together, gravity predominated, and it was slowly braking the expansion. But
eventually, after numerous billion years of expansion, the growing abundance of dark
energy caused the expansion of the universe to slowly begin to accelerate. Dark
energy in its simplest formulation takes the form of the cosmological constant term in
Einstein's field equations of general relativity, but its composition and mechanism are Abell 2744 galaxy cluster
unknown and, more generally, the details of its equation of state and relationship with - Hubble Frontier Fields
the Standard Model of particle physics continue to be investigated both
view. [33]
observationally and theoretically.[9]

All of this cosmic evolution after the inflationary epoch can be rigorously described and modelled by the ΛCDM
model of cosmology, which uses the independent frameworks of quantum mechanics and Einstein's General
Relativity. There is no well-supported model describing the action prior to 10−15 seconds or so. Apparently a new
unified theory of quantum gravitation is needed to break this barrier. Understanding this earliest of eras in the history
of the universe is currently one of the greatest unsolved problems in physics.

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Underlying assumptions
The Big Bang theory depends on two major assumptions: the universality of physical laws and the cosmological
principle. The cosmological principle states that on large scales the universe is homogeneous and isotropic.

These ideas were initially taken as postulates, but today there are efforts to test each of them. For example, the first
assumption has been tested by observations showing that largest possible deviation of the fine structure constant
over much of the age of the universe is of order 10−5.[34] Also, general relativity has passed stringent tests on the
scale of the Solar System and binary stars.[notes 2]

If the large-scale universe appears isotropic as viewed from Earth, the cosmological principle can be derived from
the simpler Copernican principle, which states that there is no preferred (or special) observer or vantage point. To
this end, the cosmological principle has been confirmed to a level of 10−5 via observations of the CMB. The
universe has been measured to be homogeneous on the largest scales at the 10% level.[35]

Expansion of space

Main articles: Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric and Metric expansion of space

General relativity describes spacetime by a metric, which determines the distances that separate nearby points. The
points, which can be galaxies, stars, or other objects, themselves are specified using a coordinate chart or "grid"
that is laid down over all spacetime. The cosmological principle implies that the metric should be homogeneous and
isotropic on large scales, which uniquely singles out the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric (FLRW
metric). This metric contains a scale factor, which describes how the size of the universe changes with time. This
enables a convenient choice of a coordinate system to be made, called comoving coordinates. In this coordinate
system the grid expands along with the universe, and objects that are moving only due to the expansion of the
universe remain at fixed points on the grid. While their coordinate distance (comoving distance) remains constant,
the physical distance between two such comoving points expands proportionally with the scale factor of the
universe.[36]

The Big Bang is not an explosion of matter moving outward to fill an empty universe. Instead, space itself expands
with time everywhere and increases the physical distance between two comoving points. In other words, the Big
Bang is not an explosion in space, but rather an expansion of space.[4] Because the FLRW metric assumes a
uniform distribution of mass and energy, it applies to our universe only on large scales—local concentrations of
matter such as our galaxy are gravitationally bound and as such do not experience the large-scale expansion of
space.[37]

Horizons

Main article: Cosmological horizon

An important feature of the Big Bang spacetime is the presence of horizons. Since the universe has a finite age, and
light travels at a finite speed, there may be events in the past whose light has not had time to reach us. This places a
limit or a past horizon on the most distant objects that can be observed. Conversely, because space is expanding,
and more distant objects are receding ever more quickly, light emitted by us today may never "catch up" to very
distant objects. This defines a future horizon, which limits the events in the future that we will be able to influence.
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The presence of either type of horizon depends on the details of the FLRW model that describes our universe. Our
understanding of the universe back to very early times suggests that there is a past horizon, though in practice our
view is also limited by the opacity of the universe at early times. So our view cannot extend further backward in
time, though the horizon recedes in space. If the expansion of the universe continues to accelerate, there is a future
horizon as well.[38]

History
Main article: History of the Big Bang theory
See also: Timeline of cosmology

Etymology

English astronomer Fred Hoyle is credited with coining the term "Big Bang" during a 1949 BBC radio broadcast. It
is popularly reported that Hoyle, who favored an alternative "steady state" cosmological model, intended this to be
pejorative, but Hoyle explicitly denied this and said it was just a striking image meant to highlight the difference
between the two models.[39][40][41]:129

Development

The Big Bang theory developed from observations of the structure of the
Hubble eXtreme Deep Field
universe and from theoretical considerations. In 1912 Vesto Slipher
(XDF)
measured the first Doppler shift of a "spiral nebula" (spiral nebula is the
obsolete term for spiral galaxies), and soon discovered that almost all such
nebulae were receding from Earth. He did not grasp the cosmological
implications of this fact, and indeed at the time it was highly controversial
whether or not these nebulae were "island universes" outside our Milky
Way.[43][44] Ten years later, Alexander Friedmann, a Russian cosmologist
and mathematician, derived the Friedmann equations from Albert Einstein's
equations of general relativity, showing that the universe might be expanding
in contrast to the static universe model advocated by Einstein at that
time.[45] In 1924 Edwin Hubble's measurement of the great distance to the
nearest spiral nebulae showed that these systems were indeed other
galaxies. Independently deriving Friedmann's equations in 1927, Georges XDF size compared to the size of
Lemaître, a Belgian physicist and Roman Catholic priest, proposed that the the moon - several thousand
inferred recession of the nebulae was due to the expansion of the galaxies, each consisting of
universe.[46] billions of stars, are in this small
view.
In 1931 Lemaître went further and suggested that the evident expansion of
the universe, if projected back in time, meant that the further in the past the
smaller the universe was, until at some finite time in the past all the mass of
the universe was concentrated into a single point, a "primeval atom" where
and when the fabric of time and space came into existence.[47]

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Starting in 1924, Hubble painstakingly developed a series of distance

indicators, the forerunner of the cosmic distance ladder, using the 100-inch
(2,500 mm) Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory. This allowed
him to estimate distances to galaxies whose redshifts had already been
measured, mostly by Slipher. In 1929 Hubble discovered a correlation
between distance and recession velocity—now known as Hubble's
law.[17][48] Lemaître had already shown that this was expected, given the
cosmological principle.[9]

In the 1920s and 1930s almost every major cosmologist preferred an XDF (2012) view - each light
eternal steady state universe, and several complained that the beginning of speck is a galaxy - some of these
time implied by the Big Bang imported religious concepts into physics; this are as old as 13.2 billion years [42]
objection was later repeated by supporters of the steady state theory.[49] - the universe is estimated to
This perception was enhanced by the fact that the originator of the Big Bang contain 200 billion galaxies.
theory, Monsignor Georges Lemaître, was a Roman Catholic priest.[50]
Arthur Eddington agreed with Aristotle that the universe did not have a
beginning in time, viz., that matter is eternal. A beginning in time was
"repugnant" to him.[51][52] Lemaître, however, thought that

If the world has begun with a single quantum, the notions of

space and time would altogether fail to have any meaning at the
XDF image shows fully mature
beginning; they would only begin to have a sensible meaning
galaxies in the foreground plane -
when the original quantum had been divided into a sufficient
nearly mature galaxies from 5 to 9
number of quanta. If this suggestion is correct, the beginning of
billion years ago - protogalaxies,
the world happened a little before the beginning of space and
blazing with young stars, beyond
time.[53] 9 billion years.

During the 1930s other ideas were proposed as non-standard cosmologies to explain Hubble's observations,
including the Milne model,[54] the oscillatory universe (originally suggested by Friedmann, but advocated by Albert
Einstein and Richard Tolman)[55] and Fritz Zwicky's tired light hypothesis.[56]

After World War II, two distinct possibilities emerged. One was Fred Hoyle's steady state model, whereby new
matter would be created as the universe seemed to expand. In this model the universe is roughly the same at any
point in time.[57] The other was Lemaître's Big Bang theory, advocated and developed by George Gamow, who
introduced big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN)[58] and whose associates, Ralph Alpher and Robert Herman, predicted
the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB).[59] Ironically, it was Hoyle who coined the phrase that came
to be applied to Lemaître's theory, referring to it as "this big bang idea" during a BBC Radio broadcast in March
1949.[41]:129[notes 3] For a while, support was split between these two theories. Eventually, the observational
evidence, most notably from radio source counts, began to favor Big Bang over Steady State. The discovery and
confirmation of the cosmic microwave background radiation in 1964[61] secured the Big Bang as the best theory of
the origin and evolution of the universe. Much of the current work in cosmology includes understanding how
galaxies form in the context of the Big Bang, understanding the physics of the universe at earlier and earlier times,
and reconciling observations with the basic theory.

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In 1968 and 1970, Roger Penrose, Stephen Hawking, and George F. R. Ellis published papers where they showed
that mathematical singularities were an inevitable initial condition of general relativistic models of the Big
Bang.[62][63] Then, from the 1970s to the 1990s, cosmologists worked on characterizing the features of the Big
Bang universe and resolving outstanding problems. In 1981, Alan Guth made a breakthrough in theoretical work on
resolving certain outstanding theoretical problems in the Big Bang theory with the introduction of an epoch of rapid
expansion in the early universe he called "inflation".[64] Meanwhile, during these decades, two questions in
observational cosmology that generated much discussion and disagreement were over the precise values of the
Hubble Constant[65] and the matter-density of the universe (before the discovery of dark energy, thought to be the
key predictor for the eventual fate of the universe).[66] In the mid-1990s observations of certain globular clusters
appeared to indicate that they were about 15 billion years old, which conflicted with most then-current estimates of
the age of the universe (and indeed with the age measured today). This issue was later resolved when new
computer simulations, which included the effects of mass loss due to stellar winds, indicated a much younger age for
globular clusters.[67] While there still remain some questions as to how accurately the ages of the clusters are
measured, globular clusters are of interest to cosmology as some of the oldest objects in the universe.

Significant progress in Big Bang cosmology have been made since the late 1990s as a result of advances in
telescope technology as well as the analysis of data from satellites such as COBE,[68] the Hubble Space Telescope
and WMAP.[69] Cosmologists now have fairly precise and accurate measurements of many of the parameters of
the Big Bang model, and have made the unexpected discovery that the expansion of the universe appears to be
accelerating.

Observational evidence
The earliest and most direct
observational evidence of the validity
"[The] big bang picture is too
of the theory are the expansion of the firmly grounded in data from
universe according to Hubble's law (as every area to be proved invalid in
indicated by the redshifts of galaxies), its general features."
discovery and measurement of the
cosmic microwave background and Lawrence Krauss [70]
the relative abundances of light
Artist's depiction of the WMAP elements produced by Big Bang nucleosynthesis. More recent evidence
satellite gathering data to help includes observations of galaxy formation and evolution, and the distribution
scientists understand the Big Bang
of large-scale cosmic structures,[71] These are sometimes called the "four
pillars" of the Big Bang theory.[72]

Precise modern models of the Big Bang appeal to various exotic physical phenomena that have not been observed
in terrestrial laboratory experiments or incorporated into the Standard Model of particle physics. Of these features,
dark matter is currently subjected to the most active laboratory investigations.[73] Remaining issues include the
cuspy halo problem and the dwarf galaxy problem of cold dark matter. Dark energy is also an area of intense
interest for scientists, but it is not clear whether direct detection of dark energy will be possible.[74] Inflation and
baryogenesis remain more speculative features of current Big Bang models. Viable, quantitative explanations for
such phenomena are still being sought. These are currently unsolved problems in physics.

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Hubble's law and the expansion of space

Main articles: Hubble's law and Metric expansion of space

See also: Distance measures (cosmology) and Scale factor (universe)

Observations of distant galaxies and quasars show that these objects are redshifted—the light emitted from them
has been shifted to longer wavelengths. This can be seen by taking a frequency spectrum of an object and matching
the spectroscopic pattern of emission lines or absorption lines corresponding to atoms of the chemical elements
interacting with the light. These redshifts are uniformly isotropic, distributed evenly among the observed objects in
all directions. If the redshift is interpreted as a Doppler shift, the recessional velocity of the object can be calculated.
For some galaxies, it is possible to estimate distances via the cosmic distance ladder. When the recessional
velocities are plotted against these distances, a linear relationship known as Hubble's law is observed:[17]

v = H0D,

where

v is the recessional velocity of the galaxy or other distant object,

D is the comoving distance to the object, and
+1.3
H0 is Hubble's constant, measured to be 70.4 −1.4 km/s/Mpc by the WMAP probe.[32]

Hubble's law has two possible explanations. Either we are at the center of an explosion of galaxies—which is
untenable given the Copernican principle—or the universe is uniformly expanding everywhere. This universal
expansion was predicted from general relativity by Alexander Friedmann in 1922[45] and Georges Lemaître in
1927,[46] well before Hubble made his 1929 analysis and observations, and it remains the cornerstone of the Big
Bang theory as developed by Friedmann, Lemaître, Robertson, and Walker.

The theory requires the relation v = HD to hold at all times, where D is the comoving distance, v is the recessional
velocity, and v, H, and D vary as the universe expands (hence we write H0 to denote the present-day Hubble
"constant"). For distances much smaller than the size of the observable universe, the Hubble redshift can be thought
of as the Doppler shift corresponding to the recession velocity v. However, the redshift is not a true Doppler shift,
but rather the result of the expansion of the universe between the time the light was emitted and the time that it was
detected.[75]

That space is undergoing metric expansion is shown by direct observational evidence of the Cosmological principle
and the Copernican principle, which together with Hubble's law have no other explanation. Astronomical redshifts
are extremely isotropic and homogeneous,[17] supporting the Cosmological principle that the universe looks the
same in all directions, along with much other evidence. If the redshifts were the result of an explosion from a center
distant from us, they would not be so similar in different directions.

Measurements of the effects of the cosmic microwave background radiation on the dynamics of distant
astrophysical systems in 2000 proved the Copernican principle, that, on a cosmological scale, the Earth is not in a
central position.[76] Radiation from the Big Bang was demonstrably warmer at earlier times throughout the universe.
Uniform cooling of the cosmic microwave background over billions of years is explainable only if the universe is
experiencing a metric expansion, and excludes the possibility that we are near the unique center of an explosion.

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Cosmic microwave background radiation

Main article: Cosmic microwave background radiation

In 1964 Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson serendipitously

discovered the cosmic background radiation, an omnidirectional
signal in the microwave band.[61] Their discovery provided
substantial confirmation of the general CMB predictions: the
radiation was found to be consistent with an almost perfect black
body spectrum in all directions; this spectrum has been redshifted
by the expansion of the universe, and today corresponds to
approximately 2.725 K. This tipped the balance of evidence in 9 year WMAP image of the cosmic
favor of the Big Bang model, and Penzias and Wilson were microwave background radiation
awarded a Nobel Prize in 1978. (2012). [77][78] The radiation is isotropic to
roughly one part in 100,000. [79]
The surface of last
scattering
corresponding to emission of the CMB occurs shortly after
recombination, the epoch when neutral hydrogen becomes stable. Prior
to this, the universe comprised a hot dense photon-baryon plasma sea
where photons were quickly scattered from free charged particles.
Peaking at around 372 ± 14 kyr,[31] the mean free path for a photon
becomes long enough to reach the present day and the universe becomes
transparent.

The cosmic microwave background In 1989 NASA launched the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite
spectrum measured by the FIRAS (COBE). Its findings were consistent with predictions regarding the
instrument on the COBE satellite is CMB, finding a residual temperature of 2.726 K (more recent
the most-precisely measured black measurements have revised this figure down slightly to 2.725 K) and
body spectrum in nature. [80] The data providing the first evidence for fluctuations (anisotropies) in the CMB, at
points and error bars on this graph a level of about one part in 105.[68] John C. Mather and George Smoot
are obscured by the theoretical curve. were awarded the Nobel Prize for their leadership in this work. During
the following decade, CMB anisotropies were further investigated by a
large number of ground-based and balloon experiments. In 2000–2001
several experiments, most notably BOOMERanG, found the shape of the universe to be spatially almost flat by
measuring the typical angular size (the size on the sky) of the anisotropies.[81][82][83]

In early 2003 the first results of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) were released, yielding
what were at the time the most accurate values for some of the cosmological parameters. The results disproved
several specific cosmic inflation models, but are consistent with the inflation theory in general.[69] The Planck space
probe was launched in May 2009. Other ground and balloon based cosmic microwave background experiments
are ongoing.

Abundance of primordial elements

Main article: Big Bang nucleosynthesis

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Using the Big Bang model it is possible to calculate the concentration of helium-4, helium-3, deuterium, and lithium-
7 in the universe as ratios to the amount of ordinary hydrogen.[26] The relative abundances depend on a single
parameter, the ratio of photons to baryons. This value can be calculated independently from the detailed structure
4
of CMB fluctuations. The ratios predicted (by mass, not by number) are about 0.25 for He/H, about 10−3 for
2 3 7
H/H, about 10−4 for He/H and about 10−9 for Li/H.[26]

The measured abundances all agree at least roughly with those predicted from a single value of the baryon-to-
4
photon ratio. The agreement is excellent for deuterium, close but formally discrepant for He, and off by a factor of
7
two for Li; in the latter two cases there are substantial systematic uncertainties. Nonetheless, the general
consistency with abundances predicted by Big Bang nucleosynthesis is strong evidence for the Big Bang, as the
theory is the only known explanation for the relative abundances of light elements, and it is virtually impossible to
"tune" the Big Bang to produce much more or less than 20–30% helium.[84] Indeed, there is no obvious reason
outside of the Big Bang that, for example, the young universe (i.e., before star formation, as determined by studying
matter supposedly free of stellar nucleosynthesis products) should have more helium than deuterium or more
3
deuterium than He, and in constant ratios, too.[85]:182–185

Galactic evolution and distribution

Main articles: Galaxy formation and evolution and Structure formation

Detailed observations of the morphology and distribution of galaxies and quasars are in agreement with the current
state of the Big Bang theory. A combination of observations and theory suggest that the first quasars and galaxies
formed about a billion years after the Big Bang, and since then larger structures have been forming, such as galaxy
clusters and superclusters. Populations of stars have been aging and evolving, so that distant galaxies (which are
observed as they were in the early universe) appear very different from nearby galaxies (observed in a more recent
state). Moreover, galaxies that formed relatively recently appear markedly different from galaxies formed at similar
distances but shortly after the Big Bang. These observations are strong arguments against the steady-state model.
Observations of star formation, galaxy and quasar distributions and larger structures agree well with Big Bang
simulations of the formation of structure in the universe and are helping to complete details of the theory.[86][87]

Primordial gas clouds

In 2011 astronomers found what they believe to be pristine clouds of primordial gas, by analyzing absorption lines
in the spectra of distant quasars. Before this discovery, all other astronomical objects have been observed to
contain heavy elements that are formed in stars. These two clouds of gas contain no elements heavier than hydrogen
and deuterium.[88][89] Since the clouds of gas have no heavy elements, they likely formed in the first few minutes
after the Big Bang, during Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Their composition matches the composition predicted from Big
Bang nucleosynthesis. This provides direct evidence that there was a period in the history of the universe before the
formation of the first stars, when most ordinary matter existed in the form of clouds of neutral hydrogen.

Other lines of evidence

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The age of the universe as estimated from the Hubble expansion and the
CMB is now in good agreement with other estimates using the ages of the
oldest stars, both as measured by applying the theory of stellar evolution to
globular clusters and through radiometric dating of individual Population II
stars.[90]

The prediction that the CMB temperature was higher in the past has been
experimentally supported by observations of very low temperature
absorption lines in gas clouds at high redshift.[91] This prediction also implies
that the amplitude of the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies
does not depend directly on redshift. Observations have found this to be
Focal plane of BICEP2 telescope
roughly true, but this effect depends on cluster properties that do change
under a microscope - may have
with cosmic time, making precise measurements difficult.[92][93] detected gravitational waves from

On 17 March 2014, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for the infant universe. [13][14][15][16]
Astrophysics announced the apparent detection of primordial gravitational
waves, which, if confirmed, may provide strong evidence for inflation and the Big Bang.[13][14][15][16] However, on
19 June 2014, lowered confidence in confirming the findings was reported;[94][95][96] and on 19 September 2014,
even more lowered confidence.[97][98]

Problems and related issues in physics

See also: List of unsolved problems in physics

As with any theory, a number of mysteries and problems have arisen as a result of the development of the Big Bang
theory. Some of these mysteries and problems have been resolved while others are still outstanding. Proposed
solutions to some of the problems in the Big Bang model have revealed new mysteries of their own. For example,
the horizon problem, the magnetic monopoles problem, and the flatness problem are most commonly resolved with
inflationary theory, but the details of the inflationary universe are still left unresolved and alternatives to inflation are
even still entertained in the literature.[99][100] What follows are a list of the mysterious aspects of the Big Bang
theory still under intense investigation by cosmologists and astrophysicists.

Baryon asymmetry

Main article: Baryon asymmetry

It is not yet understood why the universe has more matter than antimatter.[101] It is generally assumed that when the
universe was young and very hot, it was in statistical equilibrium and contained equal numbers of baryons and
antibaryons. However, observations suggest that the universe, including its most distant parts, is made almost
entirely of matter. A process called baryogenesis was hypothesized to account for the asymmetry. For baryogenesis
to occur, the Sakharov conditions must be satisfied. These require that baryon number is not conserved, that C-
symmetry and CP-symmetry are violated and that the universe depart from thermodynamic equilibrium.[102] All
these conditions occur in the Standard Model, but the effect is not strong enough to explain the present baryon
asymmetry.

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Dark energy

Main article: Dark energy

Measurements of the redshift–magnitude relation for type Ia supernovae indicate that the expansion of the universe
has been accelerating since the universe was about half its present age. To explain this acceleration, general
relativity requires that much of the energy in the universe consists of a component with large negative pressure,
dubbed "dark energy".[9] Dark energy, though speculative, solves numerous problems. Measurements of the
cosmic microwave background indicate that the universe is very nearly spatially flat, and therefore according to
general relativity the universe must have almost exactly the critical density of mass/energy. But the mass density of
the universe can be measured from its gravitational clustering, and is found to have only about 30% of the critical
density.[9] Since theory suggests that dark energy does not cluster in the usual way it is the best explanation for the
"missing" energy density. Dark energy also helps to explain two geometrical measures of the overall curvature of the
universe, one using the frequency of gravitational lenses, and the other using the characteristic pattern of the large-
scale structure as a cosmic ruler.

Negative pressure is believed to be a property of vacuum energy, but the exact nature and existence of dark energy
remains one of the great mysteries of the Big Bang. Results from the WMAP team in 2008 are in accordance with a
universe that consists of 73% dark energy, 23% dark matter, 4.6% regular matter and less than 1% neutrinos.[32]
According to theory, the energy density in matter decreases with the expansion of the universe, but the dark energy
density remains constant (or nearly so) as the universe expands. Therefore, matter made up a larger fraction of the
total energy of the universe in the past than it does today, but its fractional contribution will fall in the far future as
dark energy becomes even more dominant.

The dark energy component of the universe has been explained by theorists using a variety of competing theories
including Einstein's cosmological constant but also extending to more exotic forms of quintessence or other modified
gravity schemes.[103] A cosmological constant problem sometimes called the "most embarrassing problem in
physics" results from the apparent discrepancy between the measured energy density of dark energy and the one
naively predicted from Planck units.[104]

Dark matter

Main article: Dark matter

During the 1970s and 80s, various

observations showed that there is not sufficient
visible matter in the universe to account for the
apparent strength of gravitational forces within
and between galaxies. This led to the idea that
up to 90% of the matter in the universe is dark
matter that does not emit light or interact with
normal baryonic matter. In addition, the
assumption that the universe is mostly normal Chart shows the proportion of different components of the
matter led to predictions that were strongly universe – about 95% is dark matter and dark energy.
inconsistent with observations. In particular, the
universe today is far more lumpy and contains

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far less deuterium than can be accounted for without dark matter. While dark matter has always been controversial,
it is inferred by various observations: the anisotropies in the CMB, galaxy cluster velocity dispersions, large-scale
structure distributions, gravitational lensing studies, and X-ray measurements of galaxy clusters.[105]

Indirect evidence for dark matter comes from its gravitational influence on other matter, as no dark matter particles
have been observed in laboratories. Many particle physics candidates for dark matter have been proposed, and
several projects to detect them directly are underway.[106]

Additionally, there are outstanding problems associated with the currently favored cold dark matter model which
include the dwarf galaxy problem[107] and the cuspy halo problem.[108] Alternative theories have been proposed
that do not require a large amount of undetected matter but instead modify the laws of gravity established by
Newton and Einstein, but no alternative theory as been as successful as the cold dark matter proposal in explaining
all extant observations.[109]

Horizon problem

The horizon problem results from the premise that information cannot travel faster than light. In a universe of finite
age this sets a limit—the particle horizon—on the separation of any two regions of space that are in causal
contact.[110] The observed isotropy of the CMB is problematic in this regard: if the universe had been dominated
by radiation or matter at all times up to the epoch of last scattering, the particle horizon at that time would
correspond to about 2 degrees on the sky. There would then be no mechanism to cause wider regions to have the
same temperature.[85]:191–202

A resolution to this apparent inconsistency is offered by inflationary theory in which a homogeneous and isotropic
scalar energy field dominates the universe at some very early period (before baryogenesis). During inflation, the
universe undergoes exponential expansion, and the particle horizon expands much more rapidly than previously
assumed, so that regions presently on opposite sides of the observable universe are well inside each other's particle
horizon. The observed isotropy of the CMB then follows from the fact that this larger region was in causal contact
before the beginning of inflation.[22]:180–186

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle predicts that during the inflationary phase there would be quantum thermal
fluctuations, which would be magnified to cosmic scale. These fluctuations serve as the seeds of all current structure
in the universe.[85]:207 Inflation predicts that the primordial fluctuations are nearly scale invariant and Gaussian,
which has been accurately confirmed by measurements of the CMB.[111]:sec 6

If inflation occurred, exponential expansion would push large regions of space well beyond our observable
horizon.[22]:180–186

A related issue to the classic horizon problem arises due to the fact that in most standard cosmological inflation
models, inflation ceases well before electroweak symmetry breaking occurs, so inflation should not be able to
prevent large-scale discontinuities in the electroweak vacuum since distant parts of the observable universe were
causally separate when the electroweak epoch ended.[112]

Magnetic monopoles

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The magnetic monopole objection was raised in the late 1970s. Grand unification theories predicted topological
defects in space that would manifest as magnetic monopoles. These objects would be produced efficiently in the hot
early universe, resulting in a density much higher than is consistent with observations, given that no monopoles have
been found. This problem is also resolved by cosmic inflation, which removes all point defects from the observable
universe, in the same way that it drives the geometry to flatness.[110]

Flatness problem

The flatness problem (also known as the oldness problem) is an

observational problem associated with a Friedmann–Lemaître–
Robertson–Walker metric.[110] The universe may have positive,
negative, or zero spatial curvature depending on its total energy
density. Curvature is negative if its density is less than the critical
density, positive if greater, and zero at the critical density, in
which case space is said to be flat. The problem is that any
small departure from the critical density grows with time, and
yet the universe today remains very close to flat.[notes 4] Given
that a natural timescale for departure from flatness might be the
Planck time, 10−43 seconds,[4] the fact that the universe has
reached neither a heat death nor a Big Crunch after billions of
years requires an explanation. For instance, even at the
relatively late age of a few minutes (the time of nucleosynthesis), The overall geometry of the universe is
the universe density must have been within one part in 1014 of determined by whether the Omega
cosmological parameter is less than, equal to or
its critical value, or it would not exist as it does today.[113]
greater than 1. Shown from top to bottom are a
closed universe with positive curvature, a
The future according to the Big Bang hyperbolic universe with negative curvature and
theory a flat universe with zero curvature.

Main article: Ultimate fate of the universe

Before observations of dark energy, cosmologists considered two scenarios for the future of the universe. If the
mass density of the universe were greater than the critical density, then the universe would reach a maximum size
and then begin to collapse. It would become denser and hotter again, ending with a state similar to that in which it
started—a Big Crunch.[38] Alternatively, if the density in the universe were equal to or below the critical density, the
expansion would slow down but never stop. Star formation would cease with the consumption of interstellar gas in
each galaxy; stars would burn out leaving white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. Very gradually, collisions
between these would result in mass accumulating into larger and larger black holes. The average temperature of the
universe would asymptotically approach absolute zero—a Big Freeze.[114] Moreover, if the proton were unstable,
then baryonic matter would disappear, leaving only radiation and black holes. Eventually, black holes would
evaporate by emitting Hawking radiation. The entropy of the universe would increase to the point where no
organized form of energy could be extracted from it, a scenario known as heat death.[115]:sec VI.D

Modern observations of accelerating expansion imply that more and more of the currently visible universe will pass
beyond our event horizon and out of contact with us. The eventual result is not known. The ΛCDM model of the
universe contains dark energy in the form of a cosmological constant. This theory suggests that only gravitationally
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bound systems, such as galaxies, will remain together, and they too will be subject to heat death as the universe
expands and cools. Other explanations of dark energy, called phantom energy theories, suggest that ultimately
galaxy clusters, stars, planets, atoms, nuclei, and matter itself will be torn apart by the ever-increasing expansion in a
so-called Big Rip.[116]

Before: Speculative physics beyond the Big Bang theory

Main article: cosmogony
See also: Planck epoch

While the Big Bang model is well established in

cosmology, it is likely to be refined. The Big Bang
Theory, built upon the equations of classical general
relativity, indicates a singularity at the origin of
cosmic time; this infinite energy density is regarded
as impossible in physics. Still, it is known that the
equations are not applicable before the time when
the universe cooled down to the Planck
temperature, and this conclusion depends on
various assumptions, of which some could never be
experimentally verified.

One proposed refinement to avoid this would-be

This is an artist's concept of the metric expansion of space,
singularity is to develop a correct treatment of
where space (including hypothetical non-observable portions
quantum gravity.[117] of the universe) is represented at each time by the circular
sections. Note on the left the dramatic expansion (not to
It is not known what could have preceded the hot scale) occurring in the inflationary epoch, and at the center
dense state of the early universe or how and why it the expansion acceleration. The scheme is decorated with
originated, though speculation abounds in the field WMAP images on the left and with the representation of
of cosmogony. stars at the appropriate level of development.
Some proposals, each of which entails untested
hypotheses, are:

Models including the Hartle–Hawking no-boundary condition, in which the whole of space-time is finite; the
Big Bang does represent the limit of time but without any singularity.[118]
Big Bang lattice model, states that the universe at the moment of the Big Bang consists of an infinite lattice of
fermions, which is smeared over the fundamental domain so it has rotational, translational and gauge
symmetry. The symmetry is the largest symmetry possible and hence the lowest entropy of any state.[119]
Brane cosmology models, in which inflation is due to the movement of branes in string theory; the pre-Big
Bang model; the ekpyrotic model, in which the Big Bang is the result of a collision between branes and the
cyclic model, a variant of the ekpyrotic model in which collisions occur periodically. In the latter model the
Big Bang was preceded by a Big Crunch and the universe cycles from one process to the
other.[120][121][122][123]
Eternal inflation, in which universal inflation ends locally here and there in a random fashion, each end-point
leading to a bubble universe, expanding from its own big bang.[124][125]
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Proposals in the last two categories, see the Big Bang as an event in either a much larger and older universe or in a
multiverse.

Religious and philosophical interpretations

Main article: Religious interpretations of the Big Bang theory

As a description of the origin of the universe, the Big Bang has significant bearing on religion and
philosophy.[126][127] As a result, it has become one of the liveliest areas in the discourse between science and
religion.[128] Some believe the Big Bang implies a creator,[129][130] and some see its mention in their holy
books,[131] while others argue that Big Bang cosmology makes the notion of a creator superfluous.[127][132]

See also
Big Crunch
Cosmic Calendar
Shape of the universe

Notes
1. There is no consensus about how long the Big Bang phase lasted. For some writers this denotes only the initial
singularity, for others the whole history of the universe. Usually, at least the first few minutes (during which
helium is synthesized) are said to occur "during the Big Bang".
2. Detailed information of and references for tests of general relativity are given in the article tests of general
relativity.
3. It is commonly reported that Hoyle intended this to be pejorative. However, Hoyle later denied that, saying that it
was just a striking image meant to emphasize the difference between the two theories for radio listeners.[60]
4. Strictly, dark energy in the form of a cosmological constant drives the universe towards a flat state; however, our
universe remained close to flat for several billion years, before the dark energy density became significant.

References
1. Joseph Silk (2009). Horizons of Cosmology. Templeton Press. p. 208.
2. Simon Singh (2005). Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe. Harper Perennial. p. 560.
3. Wollack, E. J. (10 December 2010). "Cosmology: The Study of the Universe" (http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/).
Universe 101: Big Bang Theory. NASA. Archived
(http://web.archive.org/web/20110514230003/http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/) from the original on 14 May
2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011. "The second section discusses the classic tests of the Big Bang theory that make it
so compelling as the likely valid description of our universe."
4. "First Second of the Big Bang". How The Universe Works 3. 2014. Discovery Science.
5. "Big-bang model" (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64893/big-bang-model). Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved 11 February 2015.
6. Wright, E. L. (9 May 2009). "What is the evidence for the Big Bang?"
(http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmology_faq.html#BBevidence). Frequently Asked Questions in Cosmology.
UCLA, Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Retrieved 16 October 2009.

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