Related papers: Can Self-Ordering Scalar Fields explain the BICEP2…
We show that the B-mode polarization signal detected at low multipoles by BICEP2 cannot be entirely due to topological defects. This would be incompatible with the high-multipole B-mode polarization data and also with existing temperature…
Scaling networks of cosmic defects, such as strings and textures, actively generate scalar, vector and tensor metric perturbations throughout the history of the universe. In particular, {\em vector} modes sourced by defects are an efficient…
For the simplest inflation models, the recent detection of a large primordial B-mode polarization signal by the BICEP2 experiment indicates a slight tension with the upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r$, from the Planck satellite.…
As repeatedly speculated in the past, the linear polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background can be rotated via the Faraday effect. An economic explanation of the recent Bicep2 observations, not relying on long-wavelength tensor modes…
Recent measurements of the temperature field of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) provide tantalising evidence for violation of Statistical Isotropy (SI) that constitutes a fundamental tenet of contemporary cosmology. CMB space based…
In this work we discuss the possibility of cosmic defects being responsible for the B-mode signal measured by the BICEP2 collaboration. We also allow for the presence of other cosmological sources of B-modes such as inflationary…
The network of cosmic strings generated in a phase transition during inflation enters the scaling regime later than that of usual strings. If it occurs after the recombination, temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background…
Cosmic strings generate vector and tensor modes in the B-channel of polarization, as well as the usual temperature power spectrum and E-mode polarization spectrum. We use the power spectrum obtained from high-resolution Nambu-Goto cosmic…
We report on the design and performance of the BICEP2 instrument and on its three-year data set. BICEP2 was designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on angular scales of 1 to 5 degrees ($\ell$=40-200),…
The measurement of B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background at large angular scales by the BICEP experiment suggests a stochastic gravitational wave background from early-universe inflation with a surprisingly large amplitude.…
If the B-mode signal in the CMB polarization seen by the BICEP2 experiment is confirmed, it has dramatic implications for models of inflation. The result is also in tension with Planck limits on standard inflationary models. It is therefore…
Recently, BICEP2 measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) $B$-mode polarization has indicated the presence of primordial gravitational waves at degree angular scales, inferring the tensor-to-scalar ratio of $r=0.2$ and a…
(abridged for arXiv) We report results from the BICEP2 experiment, a cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarimeter specifically designed to search for the signal of inflationary gravitational waves in the B-mode power spectrum around…
The BICEP-2 team has reported the detection of primordial cosmic microwave background B-mode polarization, with hints of a suppression of power at large angular scales relative to smaller scales. Provided that the B-mode polarization is due…
Recently, BICEP2 measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) $B$-mode polarization at degree angular scales has indicated the presence of tensor modes with a high tensor-to-scalar ratio of $r=0.2$ when assuming nearly…
An inflationary gravitational wave background consistent with BICEP2 is difficult to reconcile with a simple power-law spectrum of primordial scalar perturbations. Tensor modes contribute to the temperature anisotropies at multipoles with…
The Universe may harbor relics of the post-inflationary epoch in the form of a network of self-ordered scalar fields. Such fossils, while consistent with current cosmological data at trace levels, may leave too weak an imprint on the cosmic…
Recently, BICEP2 collaboration has released their results on the measurements of the CMB polarizations. In the framework of the $\Lambda$CDM with a power law form of the scalar primordial power spectrum, this new measurement on the B-mode…
The recently released BICEP2 data detected the primordial B-mode polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) map which strongly supports for a large tensor-to-scalar ratio, and thus, is found to be in tension with the Planck…
The recent BICEP2 measurement of B-modes in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background suggests that inflation was driven by a field at an energy scale of $2\times 10^{16}$ GeV. I explore the potential of upcoming CMB polarization…