Rumors Flying Nearly as Fast as Their Subject: Have Gravitational Waves Been Detected?

Last week the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) stated rather nonchalantly that they will be hosting a press conference on Monday, March 17th, to announce a “major discovery.” Without a potential topic for journalists to muse on, this was as melodramatic as it got.

But then the Guardian posted an article on the subject and the rumors went into overdrive. The speculation is this: a U.S. team is on the verge of confirming they have detected primordial gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of spacetime that carry echoes of the big bang nearly 14 billion years ago.

 Lots of interesting info and discussion at the link. In short, *if* primordial gravity waves have been discovered, it’ll provide strong evidence in favor of inflation, the theory that the universe expanded by twenty-five orders of magnitude in the first tiniest fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Won’t find out if primordial gravity waves are the real discovery here until noon (eastern) tomorrow.