Detectability of departures from the inflationary consistency equation

We study the detectability of departures from the inflationary consistency equation, $r\equiv T/S\simeq -{5n}_T,$ where T and S are the tensor and scalar contributions to the quadrupole variance, respectively. The consistency equation holds if inflation is driven by a slowly rolling scalar field. Quantum loop corrections lead to observable violations if they are nearly maximal and $r\gtrsim \mathrm{0.1.}$ Large departures $(|\Delta n_T|\gtrsim 0.1)$ can be seen if $r\gtrsim \mathrm{0.001.}$ High angular resolution can be important for detecting a nonzero ${r+5n}_T,$ even when not important for detecting a nonzero r.