Inflation likely produced ripples in spacetime—primordial gravitational waves. These waves stretched and compressed space, leaving faint imprints in the CMB’s polarization. Detecting them confirms inflationary models and offers a direct probe of the universe’s first instants. Instruments like BICEP2 aim to capture these elusive signals. Gravitational waves connect quantum fluctuations to cosmic structure. Their discovery could revolutionize cosmology, linking general relativity to early-universe physics.
It matters because these waves provide direct evidence of the universe’s birth processes.
It also allows testing of physics at energy scales impossible on Earth.
The Big Bang may have set off cosmic ripples we can detect today.
LIGO Scientific Collaboration [ligo.org]