  The large-angular-scale falloff in the autocorrelation function for the
cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature has long intrigued cosmologists
and fueled speculation about suppressed superhorizon power. Here we highlight
an inconsistency between the temperature quadrupole and the more recently
obtained E-mode polarization quadrupole from Planck PR3. The temperature
quadrupole arises primarily at the CMB surface of last scatter, while the
polarization primarily from the epoch of reionization, but the two still probe
comparable distance scales. Although the temperature quadrupole is intriguingly
low (much greater than a $1\sigma$ fluctuation) compared with that expected in
the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model, the polarization quadrupole turns
out to be somewhat high, at the $1\sigma$ level. We calculate the joint
probability distribution function for both and find a slight tension: the
observed pair of quadrupoles is inconsistent at a $2.3\sigma$ confidence level.
The problem is robust to simple changes to the cosmological model. If the high
polarization quadrupole survives further scrutiny, then this result disfavors,
at comparable significance, new superhorizon physics. The full-sky coverage and
pristine foreground subtraction of the LiteBIRD satellite will be ideal to help
resolve this question.
