Trans-Planckian Issues for Inflationary Cosmology

Abstract: The accelerated expansion of space during the period of cosmological inflation leads to trans-Planckian issues which need to be addressed. Most importantly, the physical wavelength of fluctuations which are studied at the present time by means of cosmological observations may well originate with a wavelength smaller than the Planck length at the beginning of the inflationary phase. Thus, questions arise as to whether the usual predictions of inflationary cosmology are robust considering our ignorance of physics on trans-Planckian scales, and whether the imprints of Planck-scale physics are at the present time observable. These and other related questions are reviewed in this article.