Scientists Extend Einstein’s Relativity to the Universe’s First Moments

Standard cosmology, based on Einstein's general theory of relativity, cannot explain the origin of the ripples, because it breaks down at very small scales. During the infinitesimally brief period before the start of inflation, called the Planck era, the entire known universe was stuffed into a region many orders of magnitude smaller than an atom. If pushed that far back, relativity makes nonsensical predictions such as infinite energy densities.

To extend the reach of Albert Einstein's theory to such extreme regimes, researchers have developed a theory called loop quantum gravity. Beginning in the 1980s, Abhay Ashtekar, now at Pennsylvania State University, rejiggered Einstein's equations to make them quantum-friendly. Among the consequences are that space itself, instead of being a smooth backdrop, would consist of discrete units called loops and that its microscopic structure could fluctuate among multiple simultaneous states. In recent years physicists have also found that if loop quantum gravity is correct—a big if because experimental evidence is still lacking—then the big bang would really have been a “big bounce” from an earlier collapsing universe.
 The conclusion that quantum gravity might have left an imprint on today's large-scale cosmic structures is “quite surprising and beautiful,” says Jorge Pullin of Louisiana State University
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CALL IT quantum gravity OR GOD OR NATURE ;left an imprint on today's large-scale cosmic structures is “quite surprising and beautiful,