  The Universe is the grandest conceivable scale on which the human mind can
strive to understand nature. The amazing aspect of cosmology, the branch of
science that attempts to understand the origin and evolution of the Universe,
is that it is largely comprehensible by applying the same basic laws of physics
that we use for other branches of physics. The observed cosmic microwave
background (CMB) is understood by applying the basic laws of radiative
processes and transfer, masterfully covered in the classic text by S.
Chandrasekhar, in the cosmological context. In addition to the now widely
acclaimed temperature anisotropy, there is also linear polarization information
imprinted on the observed Cosmic Microwave background. CMB polarization already
has addressed, and promises to do a lot more, to unravel the deepest
fundamental queries about physics operating close to the origin of the
Universe.
