Related papers: Circular polarization in a spherical basis
The cosmological birefringence caused by the coupling between the cosmic scalar field and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons through the Chern-Simons term can rotate the polarization planes of the photons, and mix the CMB E-mode…
Cosmological birefringence, a rotation by an angle $\alpha$ of the polarization of photons as they propagate over cosmological distances, is constrained by the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to be $|\alpha|\lesssim1^\circ$ ($1\sigma$)…
The changes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectrum seen as an increase of temperature due to a strong magnetic field are determined and their influence on the polarization of the radiation is exhibited. The effect is due to the…
Various effects produced by vector perturbations (vortical peculiar velocity fields) of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background are considered. In the presence of this type of perturbations, the polarization vector rotates. A formula…
Measuring the imprint of primordial gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarisation field is one of the main goals in modern cosmology. However, the so called $B$-mode polarisation can be generated by different…
CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) polarization observations test many aspects of cosmological models. Effective pseudoscalar-photon interaction(s) would induce a rotation of linear polarization of electromagnetic wave propagating with…
Cosmological Birefringence (CB), a rotation of the polarization plane of radiation coming to us from distant astrophysical sources, may reveal parity violation in either the electromagnetic or gravitational sectors of the fundamental…
Most cosmic microwave background experiments observe the sky along circular or near-circular scans on the celestial sphere. For such experiments, we show that simple linear systems connect the Fourier spectra of temperature and polarization…
The search for primordial gravitational waves is a central goal of cosmic microwave background (CMB) surveys. Isolating the characteristic $B$-mode polarization signal sourced by primordial gravitational waves is challenging for several…
Recently, the cross-correlation between $E$- and $B$-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is well explained by cosmic birefringence with rotation angle $\beta\approx 0.3$ deg, has been found in CMB polarization…
With polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) now detected, and confirmed by several independent experiments, the next goal is to characterise accurately its statistical properties. In these lecture notes we review the physical…
The tensor contribution to the $V$-mode polarization induced by a magnetized plasma at last scattering vanishes exactly. Conversely a polarized background of relic gravitons cannot generate a $V$-mode polarization. The reported results…
CMB polarization provides a unique window into cosmological inflation; the amplitude of the B-mode polarization from last scattering is uniquely sensitive to the energetics of inflation. However, numerous systematic effects arising from…
When the last electron-photon scattering takes place in a magnetized environment, the degree of circular polarization of the outgoing radiation depends upon the magnetic field strength. After deriving the scattering matrix of the process,…
Gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization field has been recognized as a potentially valuable probe of the cosmological density field. We apply likelihood-based techniques to the problem of lensing of CMB…
We revisit the classification of polarization observables of the cosmic microwave background. There exists a unified approach to the $3 \times 3$ density matrix by which intensity, linear and circular polarization are treated on an equal…
Even in the absence of a sizable tensor contribution, a B-mode polarization can be generated because of the competition between a pseudo-scalar background and pre-decoupling magnetic fields. By investigating the dispersion relations of a…
While the major contribution to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies are the sought-after primordial fluctuations produced at the surface of last scattering, other effects produce secondary fluctuations at lower redshifts.…
The linear polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is highly sensitive to parity-violating physics at the surface of last scattering, which might cause mixing of E and B modes, an effect known as {\it cosmic birefringence}.…
Forthcoming cosmic microwave background experiments (CMB) will provide precise new tests of structure-formation theories. The geometry of the Universe may be determined robustly, and the classical cosmological parameters, such as the…