Related papers: Measuring Polarization In Cosmic Microwave Backgro…
We revisit the issue of cosmological parameter estimation in light of current and upcoming high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background power spectrum. Physical quantities which determine the power spectrum are reviewed,…
Since the first detection by the DASI experiment in 2002, measurements of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have grown into an important role in testing our understanding of conditions in the early universe and…
The recent high-quality measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies have presented cosmologists with the possibility of studying the large scale properties of our universe with unprecedented precision. Here I review the…
We calculate the large scale polarization of the cosmic microwave background induced by the anisotropy of the spatial geometry of our universe. Assuming an eccentricity at decoupling of about $0.64 10^{-2}$, we find $\Delta T_{pol}/ T_0…
The theoretical basis for the prediction of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background is very well developed. Very low amplitude density and temperature perturbations produce small gravitational effects, leading to an anisotropy that…
Inflation predicts specific relations between the amplitudes and spectral indices of the primordial spectrum of density (scalar metric) perturbations and gravitational waves (tensor metric perturbations). Detection of a stochastic…
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…
We investigate which practical constraints are imposed by foregrounds to the detection of the B-mode polarization generated by gravitational waves in the case of experiments of the type currently being planned. Because the B-mode signal is…
The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) is an invaluable probe of the conditions of the early universe. Recent measurements of its spatial anisotropy have allowed accurate determinations of several fundamental cosmological…
Microwave background polarization, though presently undetected, is a fundamental prediction of any viable cosmological model. These lectures review the theoretical description of polarization, its physical interpretation, and potentially…
The inhomogeneous ionization state of the universe when the first sources of ionizing radiation appeared should lead to anisotropies in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. We use cosmological simulations of the process by…
The primordial anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are linearly polarized via Compton-scattering. The Faraday conversion process during the propagation of polarized CMB photons through regions of the large-scale structure…
Precise polarisation measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) require accurate knowledge of the instrument orientation relative to the sky frame used to define the cosmological Stokes parameters. Suitable celestial calibration…
Polarization observations of the cosmic microwave background with the Cosmic Background Imager from September 2002 to May 2004 provide a significant detection of the E-mode polarization and reveal an angular power spectrum of polarized…
We examine the constraints cosmological observations can place on any trans-Planckian corrections to the primordial spectrum of perturbations underlying the anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background. We focus on models of…
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…
Matter inhomogeneities along the line of sight deflect the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons originating at the last scattering surface at redshift $z \sim 1100$. These distortions modify the pattern of CMB polarization. We identify…
We calculate the detectability of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as a function of the sky coverage, angular resolution, and instrumental sensitivity for a hypothetical experiment. We consider the gradient…
In the near future, observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies will provide accurate determinations of many fundamental cosmological parameters. In this paper, we analyse degeneracies among cosmological parameters to…
A primordial degree of circular polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background is not observationally excluded. The hypothesis of primordial dichroism can be quantitatively falsified if the plasma is magnetized prior to photon decoupling…