Constraining inflation with cosmic microwave background polarization

Observations of the polarization of the cosmic microwave backround (CMB) have the potential to place much tighter constraints on cosmological parameters than observations of the fluctuations in temperature alone. We discuss using CMB polarization to constrain parameters relevant for distinguishing among popular models for cosmological inflation, using the MAP and Planck satellite missions as example cases. Of particular interest is the ability to detect tiny contributions to the CMB anisotropy from tensor modes, which is fundamentally limited by cosmic variance in temperature-only observations. The ability to detect a tensor/scalar ratio r similar to 0.01 would allow precision tests of interesting inflation models, and is possible with a modest increase in sensitivity over that planned for the Planck satellite or is potentially achievable by ground-based experiments. [S0556-2821(98)01822-0].