Physics uses warp theory to look beyond relativity

Compressing the space-time continuum. No flux capacitors here, though

Scanning for signals from the dawn of time

The BICEP2 telescope is one of a series of instruments that have been deployed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station by a group of mostly North American institutions to study the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

BICEP2 operated from 2010 to 2012, and in 2014 researchers analysing the data announced that they had found curly ‘B-modes’ in the observed polarisation pattern, which could have been caused by gravitational waves originating from very early in the history of the universe. This discovery attracted great attention.

However, interstellar dust also emits polarised light, which can affect CMB polarisations. In September 2014, observations from the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite showed that polarised emissions from Galactic dust were much higher than expected, and significant even in the ‘clean’ South Pole sky, casting doubt on the earlier report.

The Planck and BICEP2 teams then combined their space and earth-based observations, along with South Pole data from the more recent Keck Array. Their conclusion: gravitational waves may exist, but we haven’t found them yet.

This article was originally published in the January 2016 edition of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s E&T magazine.