BICEP2 I: Detection Of B-mode Polarization at Degree Angular Scales

The BICEP2 collaboration
Ade, P.A.R. , Aikin, R.W. , Barkats, D. , Benton, S.J. , Bischoff, C.A. , Bock, J.J. , Brevik, J.A. , Buder, I. , Bullock, E. , Dowell, C.D.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 112 (2014) 241101, 2014.

Abstract (data abstract)
BICEP2. Results are reported from the BICEP2 experiment, a Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarimeter specifically designed to search for the signal of inflationary gravitational waves in the B-mode power spectrum around angular multipole ~ 80. BICEP2 observed from the South Pole for three seasons from 2010 to 2012. An excess of B-mode power over the base lensed-LambdaCDM expectation is found in the range 30 < multipole < 150, inconsistent with the null hypothesis at a significance of > 5 sigma. The observed B-mode power spectrum is well-fit by a lensed-LambdaCDM + tensor theoretical model with tensor/scalar ratio r = 0.20 +0.07,-0.05, with r = 0 disfavoured at 7.0 sigma. Subtracting the best available estimate for foreground dust modifies the likelihood slightly so that r = 0 is disfavoured at 5.9 sigma.

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