A Mission to Map our Origins

Quantum mechanical metric fluctuations during an early inflationary phase of the universe leave a characteristic imprint in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The amplitude of this signal depends on the energy scale at which inflation occurred. Detailed observations by a dedi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIP conference proceedings 2009, Vol.1141 (1), p.3-9
Main Authors: Daniel, Baumann, Asantha, Cooray, Scott, Dodelson, Joanna, Dunkley, Praisse Aurelien, A, Jackson Mark, G, Al, Kogut, Krauss Lawrence, M, Smith Kendrick, M, Matias, Zaldarriaga
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BACKGROUND RADIATION
COSMOLOGY
FLUCTUATIONS
GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
GEV RANGE
GRAVITATIONAL LENSES
INFLATIONARY UNIVERSE
METRICS
POLARIZATION
QUANTUM MECHANICS
RELICT RADIATION
UNIVERSE
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Summary:Quantum mechanical metric fluctuations during an early inflationary phase of the universe leave a characteristic imprint in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The amplitude of this signal depends on the energy scale at which inflation occurred. Detailed observations by a dedicated satellite mission (CMBPol) therefore provide information about energy scales as high as 1015 GeV, twelve orders of magnitude greater than the highest energies accessible to particle accelerators, and probe the earliest moments in the history of the universe. This summary provides an overview of a set of studies exploring the scientific payoff of CMBPol in diverse areas of modern cosmology, such as the physics of inflation [1], gravitational lensing [2] and cosmic reionization [3], as well as foreground science [4] and removal [5].
ISSN:0094-243X
1551-7616
DOI:10.1063/1.3160890