Faraday rotation of the cosmic microwave background polarization by a stochastic magnetic field

Journal Article · Tue Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 2005 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.71.043006· OSTI ID:20705986

Kosowsky, Arthur ^[1]; Kahniashvili, Tina ^[2]; Lavrelashvili, George ^[3]; Ratra, Bharat ^[4]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, Kansas State University, 116 Cardwell Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506 (United States) and Center for Plasma Astrophysics, Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory, 2A Kazbegi Avenue, GE-0160 Tbilisi (Georgia)
3. Department of Theoretical Physics, A. Razmadze Mathematical Institute, GE-0193 Tbilisi (Georgia)
4. Department of Physics, Kansas State University, 116 Cardwell Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506 (United States)

A primordial cosmological magnetic field induces Faraday rotation of the cosmic microwave background polarization. This rotation produces a curl-type polarization component even when the unrotated polarization possesses only gradient-type polarization, as expected from scalar density perturbations. We compute the angular power spectrum of curl-type polarization arising from small Faraday rotation due to a weak stochastic primordial magnetic field with a power-law power spectrum. The induced polarization power spectrum peaks at arc minute angular scales. Faraday rotation is one of the few cosmological sources of curl-type polarization, along with primordial tensor perturbations, gravitational lensing, and the vector and tensor perturbations induced by magnetic fields; the Faraday rotation signal peaks on significantly smaller angular scales than any of these, with a power spectrum amplitude which can be comparable to that from gravitational lensing. Prospects for detection are briefly discussed.

• OSTI ID: 20705986
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Journal Name: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 71; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
AMPLITUDES
COSMIC RADIATION
COSMOLOGY
DENSITY
DISTURBANCES
FARADAY EFFECT
GRAVITATIONAL LENSES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
POLARIZATION
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
RELICT RADIATION
ROTATION
SCALARS
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
VECTORS