LiteBIRD

Cosmological inflation is the leading theory of the first instant of the universe, called the Big Bang theory. Inflation postulates that the universe underwent a period of rapid expansion an instant after its formation, and it provides a convincing explanation for cosmological observations. Inflation predicts that primordial gravitational waves were created during the inflationary era, about 10−38 second after the beginning of the universe. The primordial gravitational waves are expected to be imprinted in the CMB polarization map as special patterns, called the B-mode. that could bring a profound knowledge on how the Universe began, and may open a new era of testing theoretical predictions of quantum gravity, including those by the superstring theory. The design concept is being studied by an international team of scientists from Japan, U.S., Canada and Europe. ==Telescopes==

In order to separate CMB from the galactic emission, the measurements will cover 40 GHz to 400 GHz during a 3-year full sky survey using two telescopes on LiteBIRD. The detectors will be jointly developed by Italy, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The entire optical system will be cooled down to approximately to minimize the thermal emission, and the focal plane is cooled to 100 mK with a two-stage sub-Kelvin cooler. ==See also==