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A Signature of Cosmic Strings Wakes in the CMB Polarization
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Submitted 3 Mar 2010
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim We find that ionization in the wakes behind moving strings gives rise to extra polarization in a set of rectangular patches in the sky whose length distribution is scale-invariant.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
We calculate a signature of cosmic strings in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find that ionization in the wakes behind moving strings gives rise to extra polarization in a set of rectangular patches in the sky whose length distribution is scale-invariant. The length of an individual patch is set by the co-moving Hubble radius at the time the string is perturbing the CMB. The polarization signal is largest for string wakes produced at the earliest post-recombination time, and for an alignment in which the photons cross the wake close to the time the wake is created. The maximal amplitude of the polarization relative to the temperature quadrupole is set by the overdensity of free electrons inside a wake which depends on the ionization fraction $f$ inside the wake. The signal can be as high as $0.06 {\rm \mu K}$ in degree scale polarization for a string at high redshift (near recombination) and a string tension $\mu$ given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | We calculate a signature of cosmic strings in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). | contribution 1.00 | 0.95 | 0.15 | asserted 0.93 |
| s1 | We find that ionization in the wakes behind moving strings gives rise to extra polarization in a set of rectangular patches in the sky whose length distribution is scale-invariant. | result 1.00 | 0.95 | 0.67 | asserted 1.00 |
| s2 | The length of an individual patch is set by the co-moving Hubble radius at the time the string is perturbing the CMB. | result 0.87 | 0.78 | 0.07 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | The polarization signal is largest for string wakes produced at the earliest post-recombination time, and for an alignment in which the photons cross the wake close to the time the wake is created. | result 0.99 | 0.88 | 0.14 | asserted 1.00 |
| s4 | The maximal amplitude of the polarization relative to the temperature quadrupole is set by the overdensity of free electrons inside a wake which depends on the ionization fraction $f$ inside the wake. | result 0.93 | 0.84 | 0.11 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | The signal can be as high as $0.06 {\rm \mu K}$ in degree scale polarization for a string at high redshift (near recombination) and a string tension $\mu$ given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$. | result 1.00 | 0.87 | 0.22 | hedged possibility 0.66 |
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The paper
Original abstract
We calculate a signature of cosmic strings in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find that ionization in the wakes behind moving strings gives rise to extra polarization in a set of rectangular patches in the sky whose length distribution is scale-invariant. The length of an individual patch is set by the co-moving Hubble radius at the time the string is perturbing the CMB. The polarization signal is largest for string wakes produced at the earliest post-recombination time, and for an alignment in which the photons cross the wake close to the time the wake is created. The maximal amplitude of the polarization relative to the temperature quadrupole is set by the overdensity of free electrons inside a wake which depends on the ionization fraction $f$ inside the wake. The signal can be as high as $0.06 {\rm \mu K}$ in degree scale polarization for a string at high redshift (near recombination) and a string tension $\mu$ given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$.
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References
How the literature uses it
27 arXiv papers cite this in 46 sentences
Papers citing it · 36 sentences without a confident label
Uses its method or tool 1 paper
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This accretion process can be studied [ref] by means of the Zel'dovich approximation [ref] with the result that the comoving distance $q_nl(t, t_i)$ from the central plane of the wake which is beginning to fall in at time $t > t_i$ is given by [ref]
Angular Power Spectrum of B-mode Polarization from Cosmic String Wakes · Polarization Signal of a Cosmic String Wake · 0.92
Uses its data or values 1 paper
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Inserting numbers, the result is [ref]
Probing Particle Physics from Top Down with Cosmic Strings · CMB Polarization Patterns from a Cosmic String Wake · 0.89
Cites it as support 1 paper
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For example, cosmic strings can produce direct $B$-mode polarization [ref] .
Bouncing Cosmologies: Progress and Problems · Tilt of the Tensor Spectrum · 0.96
Cites it as background 5 papers
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In this section, we present a brief description of the polarisation signal from cosmic string wakes, the full derivation of which can be found in [ref] .
Signal of Cosmic Strings in Cross-Correlation of 21-cm Redshift and CMB Polarization Maps · Cosmic String Wake signature in CMB polarization · 0.83
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The extra Thomson scattering in wakes thus leads to a characteristic CMB polarization signal [ref] , a rectangle in the sky with extra polarization (including a B-mode component).
Extracting the Signal of Cosmic String Wakes from 21-cm Observations · Introduction · 0.83
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B-mode polarization can originate from gravitational waves generated in the primordial epoch, or from vector and tensor perturbations at late times, such as in topological defect models [ref] .
Differentiating G-inflation from String Gas Cosmology using the Effective Field Theory Approach · Introduction · 0.84
What it cites · 48 sentences without a confident label
Uses the method or tool of 1 paper
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The long strings will chop off loops, and this leads to the conclusion that the string distribution will be statistically independent on time scales larger than the Hubble radius [Hence, to model the effects of strings we will make use of a toy model introduced in [ref] and used in most analytical work on cosmic strings and structure formation since then: we divide the time interval between recombination and the current time $t_0$ into Hubble expansion time steps.
COBE vs Cosmic Strings: An Analytical Model · Cosmic String Wakes · 0.98
Uses data or values from 3 papers
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As computed in [ref] (see also [ref] ), the residual ionization fraction $f$ tends to a limiting value of between $10^-5$ and $10^-4$ at late times after recombination.
Probing the Reionization History of the Universe using the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization · Analysis · 0.97
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The maximal amplitude of the B-mode polarization power spectrum for strings with $G μ= 3 ×10^-7$ was shown to be taken on at angular harmonic values of $l ∼500$ and to be of the order $0.3 μK^2$ [ref] .
On vector mode contribution to CMB temperature and polarization from local strings · Introduction · 0.95
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We will consider the value $G μ= 3 ×10^-7$ which is the current upper bound on the string tension [ref] (using the assumptions about the cosmic string scaling solution made in these papers).
Observational Constraints on Cosmic String Production During Brane Inflation · Analysis · 0.99
Cites as background 4 papers
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In related work, the conversion of E-mode to B-mode polarization via the gravitational lensing induced by cosmic strings was studied in [ref] [While this paper was being finalized for submission, a preprint appeared [ref] computing the local B-mode polarization power spectrum from cosmic strings.].
The local B-polarization of the CMB: a very sensitive probe of cosmic defects · Introduction · 0.86
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If unpolarized cosmic microwave background radiation with a quadrupolar anisotropy scatters off free electrons, then the scattered radiation is polarized (see e.g. [ref] for reviews of the theory of CMB polarization).
Reionization Revisited: Secondary CMB Anisotropies and Polarization · Analysis · 1.00
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The gravitational accretion onto string filaments was studied in [ref] .].
ACCRETION OF HOT DARK MATTER ONTO SLOWLY MOVING COSMIC STRINGS · Cosmic String Wakes · 0.86
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