  An alternative inflationary model is proposed predicated upon a consideration
of the form of the uncertainty principle in a curved background spacetime. An
argument is presented suggesting a possible curvature dependence in the correct
commutator relations for a quantum field in a classical background which cannot
be deduced by simply extrapolation from the flat spacetime theory. To assess
the possible consequences of this dependence, we apply the idea to a scalar
field in a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background, using a simple model
for the curvature dependence (along the way, a previous result obtained by
Bunch (1980) for the adiabatically expanded wave function is corrected). The
result is a time-dependent cosmological constant, producing a vast amount of
inflation that is independent of the mass of the matter field or its effective
potential. Furthermore, it is seen that the field modes are initially zero for
all wavelengths and come into being as the universe evolves. In this sense, the
universe creates its contents out of its own expansion. At the end of the
process, the matter field is far from equilibrium and essentially reproduces
the initial conditions for the New Inflationary Model.
