My question is: Both of these concepts involve a phase transition and they both started, as far as I know, early in time, so are the above two ideas linked in any way?
My first source for this query is Inflationary Period
The inflationary epoch lasted from 10$^{−36}$ seconds after the Big Bang to sometime between 10$^{−33}$ and 10$^{−32}$seconds. Following the inflationary period, the Universe continues to expand, but at a less rapid rate.
My second source is from Lisa Randall, who states, and I paraphrase her a bit here:
Early on, [After the Big Bang] particles had no mass, but later a phase transition occurred that gave some of the particles mass (i.e. the Higgs field turned on).
My assumptions about these effects are that the inflation idea solves the horizon problem and the flatness problem and that the Higgs Field provides mass, although I am aware that, in a proton for example, most of the mass does not come from the Higgs field, but from the "quark sea", as Randall puts it.
My initial guess is that they are connected in some way, but the probability of this diminishes, imo, if they did not occur simultaneously.
I self study, but I think I am at a level that, if I am lucky enough to receive any answers, I probably won't be able to completely follow them immediately. However, I may be able to understand them after a period of related reading, so being pushed a bit on implicit assumed knowledge is ok by me.