Fischler, Willy2017-01-192018-01-222017-01-192018-01-222007-05http://hdl.handle.net/2152/44472An introduction to the physics of inflation and to the no-hair theorem is presented, raising the unsolved question of whether or not inflation can occur in inhomogeneous cosmological models. A Bianchi type I (homogeneous and anisotropic) universe might degenerate into an inhomogeneous spacetime if small perturbations to the metric were introduced. This is verified with a perturbative analysis of density inhomogeneities and the results reveal that, for a large region of parameter space, the perturbations might reach order one well before what experimentally is indicated as the earliest time at which inflation might start. This provides a scenario in which it is not clear whether a De Sitter phase of the universe evolution will be eventually achieved.electronicengCopyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.Physics of inflationNo hair theoremCosmological modelsThesisRestricted