Probing the First Instants and the Rest of the Universe with Polarized Signatures in the CMB

Explore the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation and its role in understanding the early universe in this 34-minute conference talk by Suzanne Staggs from Princeton University. Delve into the rich angular power spectrum of the CMB's intensity and its implications for primordial density fluctuations. Learn about the polarization of the CMB through Thomson scattering and the significance of E-mode and B-mode spectra. Discover how B-modes could potentially provide evidence for inflation and offer insights into the energy scale of this cosmic event. Examine how CMB polarization measurements at various angular scales contribute to our understanding of large-scale structure formation in the universe. Gain an overview of the current state of CMB polarization measurements and their potential for groundbreaking discoveries in cosmology.