Inflationary Big Bang Cosmology Timeline

Niel Brandt

HTML version by Peter Lamb.

Timeline values are expressed as time after the Big Bang in seconds; temperatures are in Kelvin.

THE QUANTUM GRAVITY ERA

1x10^-43 s

T: 1x10^32 K Reference: KT 72

Quantum limit of classical general relativity

THE INFLATION AND SYMMETRY BREAKING ERA

1x10^-38 s

T: 1x10^29 K Reference: KT 72

Limit of perturbative interaction thermalization of universe

1x10^-35 s

T: 1x10^28 K Reference: KT 72

Grand unification spontaneous symmetry breaking

1x10^-34 s

T: 1x10^27 K Reference: KT 274

Approximate start of inflation

1x10^-32 s

T: 1x10^27 K Reference: KT 274

Approximate start of reheating and end of inflation

1x10^-11 s

T: 3x10^15 K Reference: KT 72

Electroweak unification spontaneous symmetry breaking

THE QUARK-LEPTON ERA

2x10^-7 s

T: 2x10^13 K Reference: HA 353

Tauon anti-tauon annihilation

1x10^-5 s

T: 2x10^12 K Reference: KT 72

Formation of hadrons from quarks

7x10^-5 s

T: 1x10^12 K Reference: HA 353

Muon anti-muon annihilation

5x10^-4 s

T: 4x10^11 K Reference: KT 159, 281

By this time the universe has a baryon-antibaryon asymmetry which results from post-inflationary B,C,CP violating processes

1x10^-1 s

T: 3x10^10 K Reference: BS

Neutral current weak interactions become too slow and neutrinos decouple

1x10^0 s

T: 1x10^10 K Reference: BS

Charged current weak interactions become too slow and neutron to proton ratio freezes out

1x10^1 s

T: 5x10^9 K Reference: BS

Electron positron annihilation

THE RADIATION ERA

1x10^2 s

T: 1x10^9 K Reference: BS

Typical photon energies drop below the deuteron binding energy and nucleosynthesis begins

1x10^3 s

T: 4x10^8 K Reference: BS

Particle energies drop below coulomb barrier energies and nucleosynthesis ends

4x10^10 s

T: 6x10^4 K Reference: KT 77

Matter density becomes equal to radiation density

THE MATTER ERA

4x10^12 s

T: 3.5x10^3 K Reference: KT 78

Electrons and protons recombine into hydrogen atoms

6x10^12 s

T: 3.0x10^3 K Reference: KT 80

Photon decoupling

2x10^16 s

T: 20 K Reference: HA 349

Formation of galaxies

(X-1.4x10^17) s

T: not given Reference: KT 12

Formation of the solar system

(X-9.9x10^16) s

T: not given Reference: HA 390

Emergence of life on Earth

X ~ 4.7x10^17 s

T: 2.726 K Reference: KT 12

Today

These values are rough estimates only. I have taken Omega_0=1, Lambda_0=0, and h=1.

BS
Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 23, 322 by Boesgaard and Steigman
HA
Cosmology: The Science of the Universe by Harrison
KT
The Early Universe by Kolb and Turner