Part 5/8:
Recognizing the limitations of general relativity at high densities, physicists are weaving new theories that challenge the singularity premise. The evidence for cosmic inflation—a rapid expansion of the universe that likely occurred shortly after the Big Bang—suggests an entirely new approach to understanding our universe's beginnings.
Cosmic Inflation
In this scenario, cosmological inflation proposes that our universe emerged from an expanse undergoing exponential growth in a vastly larger space-time continuum. Before the Big Bang, there could be a period of inflation that mitigates the issues inherent to singularity-based models.
Alternative Theories
Various other frameworks seek to re-examine the nature of the universe's outset: