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Depolarization of the cosmic microwave background by a primordial magnetic field and its effect upon temperature anisotropy
Astrophysics · Submitted 15 Aug 1996
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim The $l\approx 1000$ multipoles of the CMB temperature anisotropy correlation function in a standard cold dark matter cosmology increase by up to 7.5\% at frequencies where depolarization is significant.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
We estimate the depolarizing effect of a primordial magnetic field upon the cosmic microwave background radiation due to differential Faraday rotation across the last scattering surface. The degree of linear polarization of the CMB is significantly reduced at frequencies around and below 30 GHz $(B_* /10^{-2}{\rm Gauss})^{1/2}$, where $B_*$ is the value of the primordial field at recombination. The depolarizing mechanism reduces the damping of anisotropies due to photon diffusion on small angular scales. The $l\approx 1000$ multipoles of the CMB temperature anisotropy correlation function in a standard cold dark matter cosmology increase by up to 7.5\% at frequencies where depolarization is significant.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | We estimate the depolarizing effect of a primordial magnetic field upon the cosmic microwave background radiation due to differential Faraday rotation across the last scattering surface. | contribution 0.99 | 0.90 | 0.13 | asserted 0.83 |
| s1 | The degree of linear polarization of the CMB is significantly reduced at frequencies around and below 30 GHz $(B_* /10^{-2}{\rm Gauss})^{1/2}$, where $B_*$ is the value of the primordial field at recombination. | result 1.00 | 0.79 | 0.36 | asserted 1.00 |
| s2 | The depolarizing mechanism reduces the damping of anisotropies due to photon diffusion on small angular scales. | result 0.89 | 0.75 | 0.14 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | The $l\approx 1000$ multipoles of the CMB temperature anisotropy correlation function in a standard cold dark matter cosmology increase by up to 7.5\% at frequencies where depolarization is significant. | result 1.00 | 0.86 | 0.40 | asserted 0.96 |
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The paper
Original abstract
We estimate the depolarizing effect of a primordial magnetic field upon the cosmic microwave background radiation due to differential Faraday rotation across the last scattering surface. The degree of linear polarization of the CMB is significantly reduced at frequencies around and below 30 GHz $(B_* /10^{-2}{\rm Gauss})^{1/2}$, where $B_*$ is the value of the primordial field at recombination. The depolarizing mechanism reduces the damping of anisotropies due to photon diffusion on small angular scales. The $l\approx 1000$ multipoles of the CMB temperature anisotropy correlation function in a standard cold dark matter cosmology increase by up to 7.5\% at frequencies where depolarization is significant.
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References
How the literature uses it
12 arXiv papers cite this in 15 sentences
Papers citing it · 9 sentences without a confident label
Cites it as background 5 papers
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When CMB radiation passes through ionized regions permeated by magnetic fields, its polarization is rotated by an angle [ref] [equation] where $n̂$ is the direction of the line of sight, $τ̇$ is the differential optical depth, $ν_0$ is the detector frequency, $B$ is the comoving magnetic field strength, and $dl$ is the comoving length element along the photon trajectory.
Searching for primordial magnetism with multi-frequency CMB experiments · Estimator of rotation measure from multiple maps · 0.84
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Cosmic birefringence can be caused by parity-violating physics in the early universe, such as axion-like particles coupling to photons through Chern-Simons interaction [ref] , more general Lorentz-violating physics beyond the Standard Model [ref] , and primordial magnetic fields through Faraday rotation which is frequency-dependent [ref] .
Impact of Anisotropic Birefringence on Measuring Cosmic Microwave Background Lensing · Cosmic Birefringence · 0.95
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The occurrence of cosmic birefringence can be attributed potentially to parity-violating phenomena in the early universe, such as the interaction between axionlike particles and photons through the Chern-Simons mechanism, [ref] , more general Lorentz-violating physics beyond the Standard Model [ref] , and primordial magnetic fields through Faraday rotation which is frequency-dependent [ref] .
Efficient estimation of rotation-induced bias to reconstructed CMB lensing power spectrum · Cosmic Birefringence · 0.97
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