FINGERPRINTS OF GALACTIC LOOP I ON THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND

Journal Article · Thu Jul 10 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/789/2/L29· OSTI ID:22365707

Liu, Hao ^[1]; Mertsch, Philipp ^[2]; Sarkar, Subir ^[3]

---

1. Niels Bohr Institute and Discovery Center, Copenhagen University, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø (Denmark)
2. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, 2575 Sand Hill Road, M/S 29, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)
3. Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP (United Kingdom)

We investigate possible imprints of galactic foreground structures such as the ''radio loops'' in the derived maps of the cosmic microwave background. Surprisingly, there is evidence for these not only at radio frequencies through their synchrotron radiation, but also at microwave frequencies where emission by dust dominates. This suggests the mechanism is magnetic dipole radiation from dust grains enriched by metallic iron or ferrimagnetic molecules. This new foreground we have identified is present at high galactic latitudes, and potentially dominates over the expected B-mode polarization signal due to primordial gravitational waves from inflation.

• OSTI ID: 22365707
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 789; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
BACKGROUND RADIATION
COSMIC DUST
COSMOLOGY
GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
INFLATIONARY UNIVERSE
IRON
MAGNETIC DIPOLES
PHOTON EMISSION
POLARIZATION
POTENTIALS
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
RELICT RADIATION
SYNCHROTRON RADIATION