Delensing for precision cosmology: optimizing future CMB B-mode surveys to constrain r

Abstract

Abstract The detection of primordial B-modes, a key probe of cosmic inflation, is increasingly challenged by contamination from weak gravitational lensing B-modes induced by large-scale structure (LSS). We present a delensing pipeline designed to enhance the sensitivity to the inflationary parameter r, minimizing reliance on foreground mitigation during lensing reconstruction. Using simulations of Simons Observatory-like CMB observations and Euclid-like LSS surveys in the Northern hemisphere, we demonstrate that excluding low- $$\ell $$ ℓ modes ( $$\ell <200$$ ℓ < 200 ) effectively mitigates foreground biases, enabling robust lensing potential reconstruction using observed CMB polarization maps. We reconstruct the lensing potential with a minimum-variance (MV) quadratic estimator (QE) applied to CMB polarization data and combine this with external LSS tracers to improve delensing efficiency. Two complementary methods – the gradient-order template and the Inverse-lensing approach – are used to generate lensing B-mode templates, which are cross-correlated with observed B-modes. This achieves a 40% reduction in the uncertainty of r with CMB-only reconstruction, improving to 60% when incorporating external LSS tracers. We validate our results using both the Hamimeche and Lewis likelihood and a Gaussian approximation, finding consistent constraints on r. Our work establishes a streamlined framework for ground-based CMB experiments, demonstrating that synergies with LSS surveys significantly enhance sensitivity to primordial gravitational waves.