A new paradigm for understanding the earliest eras in the
history of the universe has been developed by scientists at Penn State
University. Using techniques from an area of modern physics called loop quantum
cosmology, developed at Penn State, the scientists now have extended analyses
that include quantum physics farther back in time than ever before -- all the
way to the beginning. The new paradigm of loop quantum origins shows, for the
first time, that the large-scale structures we now see in the universe evolved
from fundamental fluctuations in the essential quantum nature of
"space-time," which existed even at the very beginning of the
universe over 14 billion years ago. The achievement also provides new
opportunities for testing competing theories of modern cosmology against
breakthrough observations expected from next-generation telescopes. The
research will be published on 11 December 2012 as an "Editor's
Suggestion" paper in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.