Proof of the existence of "gravitational waves" that should have validated cosmic inflation and, therefore, the Big Bang theory has again eluded cosmologists.
The scientific team that announced it had detected these gravitational waves in 2014 recently retracted its findings saying new data failed to support their initial report.
On March 17, 2014, the Bicep2 (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2) experiment was said to have made the first detection of "primordial B-waves". These B-waves might be evidence of primordial gravitational waves, which are ripples in the fabric of spacetime created by cosmic inflation.
This detection, if verified, would have proven the universe expanded rapidly less than a second after its birth due to cosmic inflation. Gravitational waves are believed to have formed in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang took place 13.8 billion years ago.
In a new paper recently submitted for publication, however, Brian Keating of the University of California, San Diego, and a member of the Bicep2 team told the Wall Street Journal, "We are effectively retracting the claim. It's disappointing. It's like finding out there's no Santa Claus. But it's important to know the truth."
Keating said the new analysis shows the source of the signal observed by Bicep2 in 2014 wasn't necessarily from the very early universe. It's also likely the signal came from light emissions from galactic dust scattered throughout the solar system.
The Bicep2 team, however, recognized the possibility they had detected interstellar dust when it published its results in June 2014. Despite this, the team defended its original findings.
The new analysis was conducted by the Bicep2 team in cooperation with scientists who worked with the European Space Agency's (ESA) Planck satellite. This satellite provided the new data that helped alter the original findings.
ESA said a joint analysis of data from its Planck satellite and the ground-based BICEP2 and Keck Array experiments showed that the origin of the original signal hadn't been detected.
The disappointment that no conclusive evidence was found to support the discovery of gravitational waves does not invalidate the Big Bang theory, however. Keating said the search for gravitational wave signals from the early universe will continue but more carefully.