Imaging Inflation with Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization
Max Tegmark (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
One of the most spectacular scientific breakthroughs in
past decades was using measurements of the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave
background (CMB) to test precisely our understanding of the history and composition
of the Universe. I describe what I view as the logical next step for CMB research:
using precision polarization measurements to learn about ultra-high-energy physics
and the Big Bang itself.