What can simultaneously solve both the flatness and horizon problems in cosmology?
A) GUTs
B) quantum mechanics
C) inflation
D) dark energy

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Inflation is a theory that proposes that the universe underwent a brief period of exponential expansion in its early stages, which could have solved both the flatness and horizon problems. The flatness problem arises from the fact that if the universe started with even a slight curvature, it would have either collapsed back on itself or expanded too quickly for structure formation. The horizon problem arises from the distant parts of the universe being too similar, which suggests that signals had too little time to travel between them since the Big Bang. Inflation could have smoothed out the universe and brought distant regions into causal contact, solving both problems.

What Can Simultaneously Solve Both the Flatness and Horizon Problems