Inflation in Kaluza-Klein theory: Relation between the fine-structure constant and the cosmological constant

In this paper we investigate a model of an inflationary universe in Kaluza-Klein theory, which is a four-dimensional de Sitter space pins a one-dimensional compactified internal space. We find that the energy scale for inflation can be predicted from the fine-structure constant in a self-consistent solution of the semi-classical Einstein equations including the Casimir effect. From the observed value of the fine-structure constant, we obtain an energy scale for inflation of epsilon = 1.84 x 10(16) g(*)(1/4) GeV, where g(*) is a dimensionless number depending on the spin and number of matter fields existing in the early universe. This value is consistent with the values often discussed for inflation and grand unification. The wave function for this model predicts a high probability for forming such universes, independent of the value of the cosmological constant. The tunneling probability favors the creation of inflationary universes with a compactified dimension, over those with all macroscopic dimensions. [S0556-2821(98)01222-3].