# Cosmic Inflation: Trick or Treat?

## TL;DR

This paper reviews the theoretical and observational status of cosmic inflation, discusses criticisms against it, and evaluates whether inflation effectively addresses early universe puzzles.

## Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of inflation's successes and challenges, critically assessing its role in cosmology.

## Key findings

- Inflation remains the leading paradigm for the early universe.
- Criticisms highlight unresolved theoretical and observational issues.
- The paper assesses inflation's effectiveness in solving cosmological puzzles.

## Abstract

Discovered almost forty years ago, inflation has become the leading paradigm for the early universe. Originally invented to avoid the fine-tuning puzzles of the standard model of cosmology, the so-called hot Big Bang phase, inflation has always been the subject of intense debates. In this article, after a brief review of the theoretical and observational status of inflation, we discuss the criticisms that have been expressed against it and attempt to assess whether inflation can really be viewed as a successful solution to the above mentioned issues.