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Description
The problem of inflation is formulated in the context of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology and quantized in a way which parallels the classical discussion. Two of the Einstein equations arise as Heisenberg equations of motion, but the Friedmann equation, which classically is a constraint which defines physical solutions, acquires a welcome quantum correction. The general formalism is applied to the exactly solvable problem of de Sitter space, where I show that the welcome additional terms in the quantum version of the Friedmann equation eliminate the problem of the big crunch. I finally discuss the possible existence of measurable corrections to the anisotropy in the CMB radiation due to these quantum effects.