Considerations in optimizing CMB polarization experiments to constrain inflationary physics
Considerations in optimizing CMB polarization experiments to constrain inflationary physics
We quantify the limiting factors in optimizing current-technology cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiments in order to learn about inflationary physics. We consider space-based, balloon-borne and ground-based experiments. We find that foreground contamination and residuals from foreground subtraction are ultimately the limiting factors in detecting a primordial gravity wave signal. …