From StarTalk friend and guest, Professor Brian Greene: Hi Everyone, A much anticipated paper was just released by the team behind the European Space Agencys PLANCK satellite. You may recall the enormous excitement on March 17 when a team of researchers using a telescope called BICEP2 (at the South Pole) announced that they had detected a swirling pattern in the microwave background radiation (the heat left over from the big bang). The announcement generated worldwide interest because our prevailing theory of cosmology, the inflationary theory, suggests that the rapid swelling of the young universe would have stretched ripples in the fabric of space, creating primordial gravitational waves. The BICEP2 data, some therefore thought, might be the smoking gun evidence for the inflationary theory. Almost immediately, the BICEP2 results became controversial, with various scientists suggesting that the swirling pattern might have a more pedestrian source, with one prime candidate being contamination from dust that pervades our galaxy. The paper just released is based on data collected by the PLANCK satellite. In it, the authors argue that a careful analysis of their data is consistent with the hypothesis that the BICEP2 results are due solely to the influence of galactic dust and hence tell us nothing about the origin of the universe. However, note that the PLANCK data does not definitively eliminate the possibility that BICEP2 did indeed see some evidence of primordial gravitational waves. Certainly, though, the case that BICEP2 did see such evidence has grown more rickety. The paper also announced that the two teams -- BICEP2 and PLANCK -- are going to join forces and produce a more refined analysis later this fall that should be able to settle the issue more definitively. --BG PS We had a program in this years World Science Festival in which many of the major scientists in this area discussed the BICEP2 results and the inflationary theory. For those who want some background, take a look at the link below.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 00:30:00 +0000
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