CMB Polarimetry and the Search for Inflationary Gravitational Waves
John Kovac
JPL / Caltech
Inflation predicts a cosmic gravitational-wave background (CGB), the
amplitude of which measures the Inflationary energy scale. The CGB in
turn produces a faint but unique signature in the `B-mode' polarization
of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). BICEP, the first experiment
specifically designed to search for this signature, began observing from
the South Pole in early 2006 and has produced the highest sensitivity
measurements yet made of CMB polarization at the ~2 degree angular scales
where the inflationary signal is expected to peak. A sister experiment,
QUAD, is pushing the limits of CMB polarimetry at smaller angular scales
where measurements of B-modes from lensing promise a sensitive probe of the
Dark Energy equation of state, the sum of neutrino masses, and improved
constraints on Inflation. Lessons learned from these pathfinder projects
inform the next generation of efforts to probe fundamental physics through
CMB polarization.
Date: | Mardi, le 17 mars 2009 |
Heure: | 16:00 |
Lieu: | Université McGill |
| Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, R.E. Bell Conference Room (room 103) |
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