2008/06/11 by Brian Keating, Brian G. Keating, Keating, Brian G.
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution #FOS: Physical sciences #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0806.1781
Book chapter written for the "Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery" Symposium honoring Prof. C. H. Townes; U.C. Berkeley, October 2005. 37 pages, 7 figures
arxiv created 2008/06/11 · openalex publication_date 2008/06/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This chapter describes how the Cosmic Gravitational Wave Background induces a specific type of CMB polarization and describes the first experiment dedicated to testing this most-promising signature of inflation. This experiment, the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP) project, has recently embarked on its third observing season. We show preliminary data from the BICEP's first season obtained with a novel polarization modulation mechanism called the "Faraday Rotation Modulator". Our discussion ends with a description of exciting new technology with the potential to probe inflation down to the GUT-scale.