Editing Inflaton (section)

=== Slow roll and reheating ===

In the true vacuum, inflaton particles decay, eventually giving rise to the observed Standard Model particles.{{cn|date=June 2022}} The shape of the potential energy function near "tunnel exit" from false vacuum state must have a shallow slope, otherwise particle production would be confined to the boundary of expanding true vacuum bubble, which contradicts observation (the universe we see around us is not built of huge ''completely'' void bubbles). In other words, the quantum state should "roll to the bottom slowly".

When complete, the decay of inflaton particles fills the space with hot and dense Big Bang plasma.<ref>{{cite web |first=Matt |last=Strassler |date=17 March 2014 |title=Inflation |department=History of the Universe |series=Relativity, space, astronomy, and cosmology |website=Of Particular Significance (profmattstrassler.com) |type=blog |url=https://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/relativity-space-astronomy-and-cosmology/history-of-the-universe/inflation/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |lang=en-US |quote=... by the author of ''Waves in an Impossible Sea''. |df=dmy-all }}</ref>