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Inflation Physics from the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale StructureFluctuations in the intensity and polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe each contain clues about the nature of the earliest moments of time. The next generation of CMB and large-scale structure (LSS) experiments are poised to test the leading paradigm for these earliest moments---the theory of cosmic inflation---and to detect the imprints of the inflationary epoch, thereby dramatically increasing our understanding of fundamental physics and the early universe. A future CMB experiment with sufficient angular resolution and frequency coverage that surveys at least 1 of the sky to a depth of 1 uK-arcmin can deliver a constraint on the tensor-to-scalar ratio that will either result in a 5-sigma measurement of the energy scale of inflation or rule out all large-field inflation models, even in the presence of foregrounds and the gravitational lensing B-mode signal. LSS experiments, particularly spectroscopic surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, will complement the CMB effort by improving current constraints on running of the spectral index by up to a factor of four, improving constraints on curvature by a factor of ten, and providing non-Gaussianity constraints that are competitive with the current CMB bounds.
Document ID
20140010710
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Abazajian, K.N.
(California Univ. Irvine, CA, United States)
Arnold,K.
Austermann, J.
Benson, B.A.
Bischoff, C.
Bock, J.
Bond, J.R.
Borrill, J.
Buder, I.
Burke, D.L.
Calabrese, E.
Carlstrom, J.E.
Carvalho, C.S.
Chang, C.L.
Chiang, H.C.
Church, S.
Cooray, A.
Crawford, T.M.
Crill, B.P.
Dawson, K.S.
Das, S.
Devline, M.J.
Dobbs, M.
Dodelson, S
Wollack, E. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2014
Publication Date
September 20, 2013
Publication Information
Publisher: Astro Ph
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN11407
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
theoretical paradigm
cosmological measurements
cosmic microwave background (CMB)
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