Observational tests of past and present inflation

宇宙学观测倾向于认为宇宙在其历史上有两个加速膨胀时期。一种被称为暴胀，它被认为发生在遥远的过去，有助于解释观测到的宇宙的大尺度特征。另一个加速阶段正在进行中，根据我们目前的模型，需要70%的宇宙密度以暗能量的形式存在。这两种现象仍然缺乏一个基本理论的令人满意的描述。拟议中的研究将有助于开发暴胀和暗能量模型，以及用观测来验证它们的方法。它将有助于培养快速发展领域的学生，并进一步加强加拿大在基础研究方面的领导地位。

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.