The very early universe - problems and perspectives

Abstract

What is known and believed about the very early universe that period between the supposed big bang and 10 to the -37th s later - is reported. Particle physicists of the early 1970s, who had looked on cosmology as a somewhat dubious part of physics, realized that the very early universe offered the only scenario for testing the authenticity of their grand unified theories (GUTs) and the more esoteric ideas about SUSY or supersymmetry. Topics discussed include: the Planck time (10 to the -44th s), quantum gravity, the SU(5) model GUT, Guth's inflationary model of the universe, and quantum cosmology leading to a nonsingular universe with such features of the steady-state theory as no beginning and no end (though perhaps periods of extreme density when quantum rules held sway).