Cosmic inflation, theorized by Alan Guth in the 1980s, proposes exponential growth moments after the Big Bang. While violating no relativity laws, space itself expanded faster than light. This smoothed out irregularities and explains the large-scale uniformity we see. Tiny quantum fluctuations stretched to cosmic scales, seeding galaxies. Inflation solved puzzles like the horizon and flatness problems. Observational evidence comes from CMB patterns. It’s the ultimate “stretching the universe” scenario.
Inflation matters because it explains the universe’s homogeneity and structure.
It also provides predictions we can test via CMB and large-scale surveys.
The universe briefly expanded faster than light itself.
CERN [cern.ch]