LiteBIRD: Exploring the Cosmos with Primordial Gravitational Waves

Abstract: We present LiteBIRD, Lite (Light) satellite for the study of B-mode polarization and Inflation from cosmic background Radiation Detection. LiteBIRD is a space mission for primordial cosmology and fundamental physics and is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). LiteBIRD is planned to orbit the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L2, where it will map the cosmic microwave background polarization over the entire sky with the frequency range from 34 to 448 GHz and with the total sensitivity of 2.2 µK-arcmin. The primary scientific objective of LiteBIRD is to search for the primordial gravitational waves. We provide an overview of LiteBIRD including scientific objectives, concept design and expected science outcomes.

About the Speaker: Hirokazu Ishino is a Professor in the Department of Physics, the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Okayama University. He earned a B.S. from Tokyo Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in experimental particle physics from the University of Tokyo. He was awarded a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for his postdoctoral work. Prof. Ishino’s research lab is currently engaged in the LiteBIRD scientific satellite project as a means of investigating primordial gravitational waves using the CMB.