Physics tweak solves five of the biggest problems in one go

Headline: Single theory solves 5 physics problems including 2 of my favorites, dark matter and inflation

Reality: Some scientists invented fields/particles to fit what we already know about inflation and dark matter

Prediction: Neither of these two particles will be found

> Dubbed SMASH, the model is based on the standard model of particle physics, but has a few bits tacked on.

That sounds very familiar... https://xkcd.com/793/

>“The best thing about the theory is that it can be tested or checked within the next 10 years or so,” Ringwald says. “You can always invent new theories, but if they can only be tested in 100 years, or never, then this is not real science but meta-science.”

Is that a dig at climate research?

Also, I don't see why kugelblitz* are not invoked more often in these theories about the early universe. You could go

  EM-radiation-only universe 
     --fluctuation above density threshold--> 
  EM-radiation + BH universe 
     --pair production with BH as momentum sinks--> 
  EM-radiation + BH + matter + antimatter universe

I do not claim to really know what I am talking about, just a vague sketch.

  *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelblitz_%28astrophysics%29

Edit: I forgot to add, where does all the antimatter go? Clearly some small proportion of matter/anitmatter generated will get incorporated into the BH soon after creation, but what is the probability of this happening in exactly equal proportions at all times? I don't know what is supposed to determine the direction and momentum of these newly created particles, but if it is "random" then that would be essentially zero.

So from that you get a tiny imbalance and annihilation will take care of the rest.