MG12 - Talk detail
 

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The Path to an Inflationary CMB Polarization Satellite Experiment

As a result of the US decadal review for astrophysics, the CMB community is planning a scientific and technical program leading to a comprehensive post-Planck CMB polarization satellite experiment. The generic predictions of Inflation, a scale-invariant spectrum of Gaussian and adiabatic perturbations, super-horizon fluctuations, and a flat geometry, have been verified by increasingly sensitive and precise measurements of CMB temperature and polarization anisotropy. Inflation also produces a background of gravitational waves, which perturbs the surface of last scattering, producing a CMB polarization signal with a distinctive B-mode power spectrum. The amplitude of this signal is sensitive to the Inflationary potential, and if detected, can be used to distinguish between models of Inflation. The Planck satellite and a suite of ground-based and balloon-borne CMB polarization experiments are now beginning to search for Inflationary polarization. We present the findings of the US CMB decadal studies, and present an emerging concept for a satellite experiment named the EPIC-Intermediate Mission. EPIC-IM provides a combination of high sensitivity, multi-band coverage, and ~5 arcminute angular resolution to definitively measure the Inflationary B-mode, lensing B-mode and scalar E-mode polarization spectra to fundamental limits. We present the capabilities and resources of EPIC-IM, as well as designs for the focal plane, optics, and cooling systems.

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