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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-2022
DTSTART:20110415T210000Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260416T235158Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20110414T210605Z
LOCATION:2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 3:30 pm)
SUMMARY:Searching for Inflation from the South Pole with CMB Polarimet
 ry\, Physics Department Colloquium\, John Kovac\, Harvard University
DESCRIPTION: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).  BICEP1\, the
  first experiment specifically designed to search for this signature\,
  began observing from the South Pole in early 2006.  It has produced t
 he highest sensitivity measurements yet made of CMB polarization at th
 e ~2 degree angular scales where the inflationary signal is expected t
 o peak.  Follow-on experiments BICEP2 and the Keck Array have now impr
 oved sensitivity dramatically are currently testing models of inflatio
 n at the GUT scale.  At smaller angular scales\, measurements of B-mod
 es from gravitational lensing promise a sensitive probe of the Dark En
 ergy equation of state\, the sum of neutrino masses\, and improved con
 straints on inflation.  This decade will see intensified efforts to pr
 obe a rich array of fundamental physics through CMB polarization.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=2022
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