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Inflationary Cosmology
January 18-23, 2011

Program Organizers: Adam Brown, Jean-Luc Lehners, Paul Steinhardt,& Neil Turok

The inflationary theory of the universe, first introduced thirty years ago, has had a profound influence on our views of the evolution of the universe and its relation to fundamental physics. The theory has motivated a series of observational and experimental tests that have, thus far, confirmed many of the predictions derived in the 1980s. As a result, the inflationary model is widely regarded today as the leading theory for explaining the origin of the large-scale structure of the universe. At the same time, there have been concerns about the foundations of the inflationary theory: Does the theory really work as advertized? Are the predictions made in the 1980s still the predictions of the inflationary model as we understand it today? Does the inflationary model make any predictions at all? Curiously, even though many of these concerns were raised when the inflationary theory was still in its infancy, many have not been resolved or even fully elucidated. PCTS and the Perimeter Institute will have a combination of small organizational workshop* (at PCTS) and conference (at Perimeter) to explore these issues.

*The PCTS meeting is for the conference organizers only. The conference at the Perimeter Institute will bebe announced shortly after the organizational meeting. Return here or go to the Perimeter site to find the announcement and information.