CMBPol Mission Concept Study: A Mission to Map our Origins
Abstract
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 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, gravitational lensing and cosmic reionization, as well as foreground science and removal .
Cite
@article{arxiv.0811.3911,
title = {CMBPol Mission Concept Study: A Mission to Map our Origins},
author = {Daniel Baumann and Asantha Cooray and Scott Dodelson and Joanna Dunkley and Aurélien A. Fraisse and Mark G. Jackson and Al Kogut and Lawrence M. Krauss and Kendrick M. Smith and Matias Zaldarriaga},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0811.3911},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
6 pages, 3 figures