Birth of Particles in an Expanding Universe on a Quantum Computer
The early universe resembled a rapidly inflating balloon: it expanded so fast that light couldn't keep up with its own edges. Then this frantic acceleration gave way to calm expansion. The balloon was no longer being blown up, and it began to slowly deflate. At the moment of the regime change, emptiness didn't stay empty: from it, as if from an overheated boiler, pairs of particles burst forth.