NSF-funded BICEP2 collaborators announce confirmation of cosmic inflation

The NSF-funded BICEP 2 collaboration has announced what is believed to be the first direct evidence supporting a key element of the universe's birth theory. Researchers discovered polarization patterns in the cosmic microwave background, suggesting gravitational waves from the Big Bang. This discovery, pending peer review, supports the cosmic inflation theory, which describes the rapid expansion of the universe shortly after the Big Bang. The BICEP 2 team, led by the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, used specialized detectors at the South Pole to achieve this significant cosmological goal.

What discovery did the NSF funded research collaboration announce regarding the birth of the universe?

How do researchers explain the patterns of polarization found in the cosmic microwave background?

What event is described as the 'Big Bang's first tremors'?

What does the theory of cosmic inflation describe?

What was the role of the BICEP 2 Collaboration in this research?