Swirls in the Afterglow of the Big Bang Could Set Stage for Major Discovery | Science/AAAS | News

Swirls in the Afterglow of the Big Bang Could Set Stage for Major Discovery | Science/AAAS | News . In a patch of sky, the random polarization pattern can be separated into two superimposed components: B-modes, in which the polarization forms right- or left-handed swirls, and E-modes, in which it does not. Whereas the coalescing of matter in the early universe can produce only E-modes, gravity waves rippling along during inflation should produce B-modes. The intensity of those "primordial" B-modes should reveal the energy density of the universe during inflation and help explain how it happened.