<p>While the paradigm of cosmological inflation is well established, the nature of the inflation is not known and is tackled by introduction of a hypothetical "inflaton" field.</p>

<p>I was wondering if there are theories or research exploring the idea that after the Big Bang the Universe had just <strong>one spatial dimension</strong> at first and therefore quite different expansion dynamics (compared to expansion along all dimensions at once), which may eliminate the need for the inflaton field. And as this simple Universe grew in size and complexity it gained the additional dimensions that slowed down the rate of expansion. </p>

<p>In terms of String theory this would probably mean that spatial dimensions were "rolled-up" initially and "unfolded" in stages with time after the Big Bang.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-27T02:37:27.717Z
Here is the closest discussion I was able to find, but it does not seem to mention the idea above: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/do-string-theorists-speculate-about-unfolding-dimensions.197056/
Oleg Muir Lou Goff
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-01T06:48:14.430Z
There's nothing wrong with asking here, it's certainly on-topic. There is a [Physics SE](https://physics.stackexchange.com/) site as well just in case you are interested.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-22T06:39:13.507Z
Crossposted to https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/515405/2451
Qmechanic
<space-time><cosmological-inflation>
The nature of cosmological inflation — unfolding dimensions?
Oleg Muir Lou Goff
# The nature of cosmological inflation — unfolding dimensions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-02-27)

While the paradigm of cosmological inflation is well established, the nature of the inflation is not known and is tackled by introduction of a hypothetical "inflaton" field.

I was wondering if there are theories or research exploring the idea that after the Big Bang the Universe had just **one spatial dimension** at first and therefore quite different expansion dynamics (compared to expansion along all dimensions at once), which may eliminate the need for the inflaton field. And as this simple Universe grew in size and complexity it gained the additional dimensions that slowed down the rate of expansion.

In terms of String theory this would probably mean that spatial dimensions were "rolled-up" initially and "unfolded" in stages with time after the Big Bang.

**Tags:** space-time, cosmological-inflation
> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Here is the closest discussion I was able to find, but it does not seem to mention the idea above: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/do-string-theorists-speculate-about-unfolding-dimensions.197056/  
> **username_1**: There's nothing wrong with asking here, it's certainly on-topic. There is a [Physics SE](https://physics.stackexchange.com/) site as well just in case you are interested.  
> **username_2**: Crossposted to https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/515405/2451  

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## 0 answers

