Research project Inflationary cosmology

Did inflation happen, and what caused it?

Cosmological observations have shown that the standard, hot Big Bang cosmology must have been preceded by a drastically different epoch in the very early universe. The leading candidate paradigm for this epoch is inflation: a period of accelerated expansion in the early universe. Inflation can be achieved with rather simple theoretical ingredients, but the microscopic origin of inflation, and what we can learn about high-energy physics from cosmological observations, remain important outstanding questions. This project explores several theoretical and phenomenological questions within inflationary physics, including how we can learn about the particle spectrum at high energies from imprints in the Comis Microwave Background and the distribution of matter on cosmic scales.

This research project has no members.

Department of Physics

The strong force may have flipped a switch — and the universe still hums

In a new study, researchers at Stockholm University and the Oskar Klein Centre have found that a theoretically well-motivated extension of the standard description of the strong nuclear interactions could have made the early moments of Big Bang cosmology more tumultuous, leading to a prediction of gravitational waves remarkably consistent with emerging observational hints.

Department of Physics

David Marsh is an educational ambassador

David has been appointed one of the university's four educational ambassadors for 2026 and has been awarded the vice-chancellor's fund for quality development in education. His project aims to develop new forms of continuous assessment. “Generative AI's rapidly improving skills in physical problem solving threaten to make all forms of assignments less effective as educational tools,” says David Marsh.

Department of Physics

David Marsh is Vice Director of EuCAPT

EuCAPT is a European consortium for astroparticle theory. It aims to bring together European researchers in theoretical astroparticle physics and cosmology. In early February, David Marsh took over as Vice Director of the consortium. At Fysikum he is a researcher in astroparticle physics and teaches the course Quantum Phenomena and Radiation Physics.

No events available.

Cookie settings

By allowing third-party services, you accept their cookies and the use of tracking technologies necessary for them to function properly.