English

How to De-Rotate the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization

Astrophysics 2009-04-08 v2 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Phenomenology

Abstract

If the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is rotated in a frequency-independent manner as it propagates from the surface of last scatter, it may introduce a B-mode polarization. Here I show that measurement of higher-order TE, EE, EB, and TB correlations induced by this rotation can be used to reconstruct the rotation angle as a function of position on the sky. This technique can be used to distinguish primordial B modes from those induced by rotation. The effects of rotation can be distinguished geometrically from similar effects due to cosmic shear.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0810.1286,
  title  = {How to De-Rotate the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization},
  author = {Marc Kamionkowski},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0810.1286},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

4 pages, this version to appear in PRL

R2 v1 2026-06-21T11:28:19.813Z