Detectability of the primordial origin of the gravitational wave background in the Universe

J. Lesgourgues, D. Polarski, S. Prunet, A. A. Starobinsky

Published 1999-06-24, updated 2000-05-12Version 3

The appearance of peaks in various primordial fluctuation Fourier power spectra is a generic prediction of the inflationary scenario. We investigate whether future experiments, in particular the satellite experiment PLANCK, will be able to detect the possible appearance of these peaks in the B-mode polarization multipole power spectrum. This would yield a conclusive proof of the presence of a primordial background of gravitational waves.