Table 8.
Inflationary “scorecard,” comparing the predictions of the simplest inflationary models with observations.
| Prediction | Measurement |
|---|---|
| A spatially flat universe | ΩK = 0.0007 ± 0.0019 |
| with a nearly scale-invariant (red) | |
| spectrum of density perturbations, | ns = 0.967 ± 0.004 |
| which is almost a power law, | dn/dlnk = −0.0042 ± 0.0067 |
| dominated by scalar perturbations, | r0.002 < 0.065 |
| which are Gaussian | fNL = −0.9 ± 5.1 |
| and adiabatic, | α−1 = 0.00013 ± 0.00037 |
| with negligible topological defects | f < 0.01 |
Notes. In all cases, the tightest observational limits come from Planck, sometimes in combination with other data sets (as described in the text). Here we quote symmetric, 68% CL uncertainties or 95% upper limits on each quantity, taken from Planck Collaboration XI (2016), Planck Collaboration IV (2020), Planck Collaboration IX (2020), and Planck Collaboration X (2020). All quantities have their usual meanings, with α−1 the amplitude of an isocurvature component to the fluctuations and the topological defect limit referring specifically to Nambu-Goto cosmic strings (see Table 8 of Planck Collaboration XI 2016, for other cases).
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.