Observational tests of past and present inflation

宇宙学观测有利于宇宙在其历史上经历两个加速膨胀时期。一种被称为膨胀的现象被认为发生在遥远的过去，有助于解释所观察到的宇宙的大尺度特征。另一个加速期正在进行中，根据我们目前的模型，需要宇宙密度的70%以暗能量的形式存在。这两种现象在基础理论方面都缺乏令人满意的描述。这项拟议的研究将有助于开发通货膨胀和暗能量的模型，以及用观测来检验它们的方法。它将帮助培养一个快速发展的领域的学生，并进一步巩固加拿大在基础研究方面的领先地位。

Cosmological observations favor a universe with two periods of accelerated expansion in its history. One, known as Inflation, is thought to have happened in the distant past and helps explain the observed large scale features of the universe. The other period of acceleration is ongoing and, according to our current model, requires 70% of the universe density to be in the form of Dark Energy. Both phenomena are still lacking a satisfactory description in terms of a fundamental theory. The proposed research will contribute to developing models of Inflation and Dark Energy and ways of testing them with observations. It will help train students in a rapidly developing field, and further strengthen Canada's position as a leader in fundamental research.