LiteBIRD: Next generation all-sky surveys of cosmic microwave background polarization

LiteBIRD is a next generation space mission designed to explore early universe and fundamental physics. JAXA selected LiteBIRD as a future large-class (L-class) mission in May 2019. LiteBIRD's goal is to conduct all sky survey of polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) with unparalleled precision.

The principal scientific objective of LiteBIRD is to conduct a study of the signal imprinted into the CMB from cosmic primordial inflation. LiteBIRD will search for the B-mode polarization signal from primordial inflation with the goal of reaching a tensor-to-scalar ratio sensitivity of σr ~ 0.001.. With such sensitivity LiteBIRD will be able to make a groundbreaking discovery or exclude well-motivated inflationary models. The measurements obtained by LiteBIRD also offer insights into the quantum properties of gravity and other fields of particle physics and cosmology.

The LiteBIRD mission will embark on an all-sky survey spanning three years from the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L2. This mission will encompass observations across 15 distinct frequency bands, ranging from 34 to 448 GHz, with three telescopes. Ultra sensitive instrument that utilizes superconducting Transition Edge Sensors detector arrays will achieve a total sensitivity of 2.16 micro K-arcmin,with an angular resolution of 0.5 degrees at 100 GHz.

In this talk, we will go over scientific objectives, mission design and status, and the anticipated scientific outcomes of the LiteBIRD mission