If long wavelength primordial tensor modes are coupled to short wavelength scalar modes, the scalar curvature two-point function will have an off-diagonal component. This 'fossil' remnant is a signature of a mode coupling that cannot be achieved in single clock inflation. Any constraint on its presence allows a cross check of the relationship between the dynamical generation of the fluctuations and the evolution of the inflationary background. We use the example of non-Bunch Davies initial

more »

... s for the tensor and scalar modes to demonstrate that physically reasonable fossils, consistent with current data, can be observable in the near future. We illustrate how the fossil off-diagonal power spectrum is a complementary probe to the squeezed limit bispectra of the scalar and tensor sectors individually. We also quantify the relation between the observable signal and the squeezed limit bispectrum for a general scalar-scalar-fossil coupling, and note the effect of superhorizon tensor modes on the anisotropy in scalar modes.