Cosmic 21 cm delensing of microwave background polarization and the minimum detectable energy scale of inflation

We propose a new method for removing gravitational lensing from maps of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization anisotropies. Using observations of anisotropies or structures in the cosmic 21 cm radiation, emitted or absorbed by neutral hydrogen atoms at redshifts 10 to 200, the CMB can be delensed. We find this method could allow CMB experiments to have increased sensitivity to a background of inflationary gravitational waves (IGWs) compared to methods relying on the CMB alone and may constrain models of inflation which were heretofore considered to have undetectable IGW amplitudes.     

Anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background: Theoretical foundations

The analysis of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) has become an extremely valuable tool for cosmology. There is even hope that planned CMB anisotropy experiments may revolutionize cosmology. Together with determinations of the CMB spectrum, they represent the first precise cosmological measurements. The value of CMB anisotropies lies in large part in the simplicity of the theoretical analysis. Fluctuations in the CMB can be determined almost fully within linear cosmological perturbation theory and are not severely influenced by complicated nonlinear physics. In this contribution the different physical processes causing or influencing anisotropies in the CMB are discussed: the geometry perturbations at and after last scattering, the acoustic oscillations in the baryon-photon plasma prior to recombination, and the diffusion damping during the process of recombination. The perturbations due to the fluctuating gravitational field, the so-called Sachs-Wolfe contribution, is described in a very general form using the Weyl tensor of the perturbed geometry.     

21-cm radiation: a new probe of variation in the fine-structure constant

We investigate the effect of variation in the value of the fine-structure constant (alpha) at high redshifts (recombination > z > 30) on the absorption of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at 21 cm hyperfine transition of the neutral atomic hydrogen. We find that the 21 cm signal is very sensitive to the variations in alpha and it is so far the only probe of the fine-structure constant in this redshift range. A change in the value of alpha by 1% changes the mean brightness temperature decrement of the CMB due to 21 cm absorption by >5% over the redshift range z < 50. There is an effect of similar magnitude on the amplitude of the fluctuations in the brightness temperature. The redshift of maximum absorption also changes by approximately 5%.     

Inflation,quantum fields,and CMB anisotropies

Inflationary cosmology has proved to be the most successful at predicting the properties of the anisotropies observed in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In this essay we show that quantum field renormalization significantly influences the generation of primordial perturbations and hence the expected measurable imprint of cosmological inflation on the CMB. However, the new predictions remain in agreement with observation, and in fact favor the simplest forms of inflation. In the near future, observations of the influence of gravitational waves from the early universe on the CMB will test our new predictions.     

A built-in scale in the initial spectrum of density perturbations: Evidence from cluster and CMB data

We calculate the temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) for several initial power spectra of density perturbations with a built-in scale suggested by recent optical data on the spatial distribution of rich clusters of galaxies. Using cosmological models with different values of the spectral index, baryon fraction, Hubble constant, and cosmological constant, we compare the calculated radiation power spectrum with the CMB temperature anisotropies measured by the Saskatoon experiment. We show that spectra with a spike at 120h ⁻¹ Mpc are in agreement with the Saskatoon data. The combined evidence from cluster and CMB data favors the presence of a peak and a subsequent break in the initial matter power spectrum. Such a feature is similar to the prediction of an inflationary model wherein an inflaton field is evolving through a kink in the potential. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 6, 373–378 (25 September 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Effect on cosmic microwave background polarization of coupling of quintessence to pseudoscalar formed from the electromagnetic field and its dual

We present the full set of power spectra of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies due to the coupling between quintessence and pseudoscalar of electromagnetism. This coupling induces a rotation of the polarization plane of the CMB, thus resulting in a nonvanishing B mode and parity-violating TB and EB modes. Using the BOOMERANG data from the flight of 2003, we derive the most stringent constraint on the coupling strength. We find that in some cases the rotation-induced B mode can confuse the hunting for the gravitational lensing-induced B mode.     

Decaying particles and the reionization history of the universe

We investigate the possibility that the Universe is significantly reionized by the decay products of heavy particles. The ionization produced by decaying particles implies a high optical depth even if the maximum level of ionization ever produced is low (10(-2)). As a consequence, a high ionization fraction (x approximately equal to 0.5) at high redshifts (z approximately equal to 20) fails to fit the cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectra at l> or =30. Recent CMB data limit the primordial abundance of the decaying particles, favoring long decay times. Other significant sources of reionization are still needed at z approximately equal to 13. The decay process heats up the medium, bringing the expected y distortion to unobservable levels.     

Extragalactic contributions to the CMB signal

One of the main challenges facing upcoming Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments aiming at measuring temperature anisotropies with great accuracy will be to assess the contamination of CMB measurements by galactic and extragalactic foregrounds. On the extragalactic side, confusion noise from extragalactic sources hampers the detection of intrinsic CMB anisotropies at small angular scales. Secondary CMB anisotropies must also be carefully accounted for in order to isolate the primordial fluctuations. We present in this article a brief overview of the extragalactic contributions to the CMB. The galactic foregrounds are discussed elsewhere (Giard and Lagache, this issue). To cite this article: G. Lagache, N. Aghanim, C. R. Physique 4 (2003).     

Searching for CPT violation with cosmic microwave background data from WMAP and BOOMERANG

We search for signatures of Lorentz and violations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies by using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the 2003 flight of BOOMERANG (B03) data. We note that if the Lorentz and symmetries are broken by a Chern-Simons term in the effective Lagrangian, which couples the dual electromagnetic field strength tensor to an external four-vector, the polarization vectors of propagating CMB photons will get rotated. Using the WMAP data alone, one could put an interesting constraint on the size of such a term. Combined with the B03 data, we found that a nonzero rotation angle of the photons is mildly favored: [Formula: See Text].     

Low‐frequency line temperatures of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background)

Based on SU(2) Yang‐Mills thermodynamics we interprete Aracde2's and the results of earlier radio‐surveys on low‐frequency cosmic microwave background (CMB) line temperatures as a phase‐boundary effect. We explain the excess at low frequencies by evanescent, nonthermal photon fields of the CMB whose intensity is nulled by that of Planck distributed calibrator photons. The CMB baseline temperature thus is identified with the critical temperature of the deconfining‐preconfining transition.     

Cosmological magnetic fields

Magnetic fields are observed not only in stars, but in galaxies, clusters, and even high redshift Lyman-α systems. In principle, these fields could play an important role in structure formation and also affect the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). The study of cosmological magnetic fields aims not only to quantify these effects on large-scale structure and the CMB, but also to answer one of the outstanding puzzles of modern cosmology: when and how do magnetic fields originate? They are either primoridial, i.e. created before the onset of structure formation, or they are generated during the process of structure formation itself.     

第一讲微波背景辐射的各向异性、偏振及宇宙电离的历史

文章对微波背景辐射的各向异性、偏振及宇宙电离的历史给出了评述性介绍．从大爆炸理论的预言，到观测的发现，到其各向异性及偏振的探测，微波背景辐射(CMB)向人们揭示了丰富的宇宙学信息．文章在对基本理论作了简单介绍后，着重讲述了最新的CMB的观测结果及其物理意义．特别对微波背景各向异性探测器(Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe，WMAP)的偏振观测及其对宇宙重新电离的限制给出了较详细的叙述．     

Possible connection between the location of the cutoff in the cosmic microwave background spectrum and the equation of state of dark energy

We investigate a possible connection between the suppression of the power at low multipoles in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectrum and the late time acceleration. We show that, assuming a cosmic IR/UV duality between the UV cutoff and a global infrared cutoff given by the size of the future event horizon, the equation of state of the dark energy can be related to the apparent cutoff in the CMB spectrum. The present limits on the equation of state of dark energy are shown to imply an IR cutoff in the CMB multipole interval of 9>l>8.5.     

Running vacuum in the Universe and the time variation of the fundamental constants of Nature

We compute the time variation of the fundamental constants (such as the ratio of the proton mass to the electron mass, the strong coupling constant, the fine-structure constant and Newton’s constant) within the context of the so-called running vacuum models (RVMs) of the cosmic evolution. Recently, compelling evidence has been provided that these models are able to fit the main cosmological data (SNIa+BAO+H(z)+LSS+BBN+CMB) significantly better than the concordance \(\Lambda \)CDM model. Specifically, the vacuum parameters of the RVM (i.e. those responsible for the dynamics of the vacuum energy) prove to be nonzero at a confidence level \({\gtrsim } 3\sigma \). Here we use such remarkable status of the RVMs to make definite predictions on the cosmic time variation of the fundamental constants. It turns out that the predicted variations are close to the present observational limits. Furthermore, we find that the time evolution of the dark matter particle masses should be crucially involved in the total mass variation of our Universe. A positive measurement of this kind of effects could be interpreted as strong support to the “micro–macro connection” (viz. the dynamical feedback between the evolution of the cosmological parameters and the time variation of the fundamental constants of the microscopic world), previously proposed by two of us (HF and JS).     

Living with lambda

This talk presents a brief overview of recent results pertaining to the cosmological constant ‘A’. I summarize the observational situation focussing on observations of high redshift Type Ia supernovae which suggest A > 0. Observations of small angular anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background complement Type Ia supernovae observations and both CMB and Sn can be combined to place strong constraints on the value of A. The presence of a small A-term increases the age of the universe and slows down the formation of large scale structure. I also review recent theoretical attempts to generate a small A-term at the current epoch and a model independent approach for determining the cosmic equation of state.     

A test of the Copernican principle

The blackbody nature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation spectrum is used in a modern test of the Copernican principle. The reionized universe serves as a mirror to reflect CMB photons, thereby permitting a view of ourselves and the local gravitational potential. By comparing with measurements of the CMB spectrum, a limit is placed on the possibility that we occupy a privileged location, residing at the center of a large void. The Hubble diagram inferred from lines of sight originating at the center of the void may be misinterpreted to indicate cosmic acceleration. Current limits on spectral distortions are shown to exclude the largest voids which mimic cosmic acceleration. More sensitive measurements of the CMB spectrum could prove the existence of such a void or confirm the validity of the Copernican principle.     

Archeops results

Archeops is a balloon-borne instrument, dedicated to measuring cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies at high angular resolution (∼12 arcmin.) over a large fraction (30%) of the sky in the (sub)millimetre domain (from 143 to 545 GHz). We describe the results obtained during the last flight: the Archeops estimate of the CMB angular power spectrum, linking for the first time Cobe scales and the first acoustic peak, consequences in terms of cosmological parameters favouring a flat-Λ Universe. We also present the first measurement of galactic dust polarization and accurate maps of the galactic plane diffuse (sub) millimetre emisson. To cite this article: J.-C. Hamilton et al., C. R. Physique 4 (2003).     

Position-space description of the cosmic microwave background and its temperature correlation function

We suggest that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature correlation function C(theta) as a function of angle provides a direct connection between experimental data and the fundamental cosmological quantities. The evolution of inhomogeneities in the prerecombination universe is studied using Green's functions in position space. We find that a primordial adiabatic point perturbation propagates as a sharp-edged spherical acoustic wave. Density singularities at its wave fronts create a feature in the CMB correlation function distinguished by a dip at theta approximately 1.2 degrees. Characteristics of the feature are sensitive to the values of cosmological parameters, in particular to the total and the baryon densities.     

An alternative to inflation? Critical role of neutrino anisotropic stress in CMB

We study the role of anisotropic stress in the evolution of curvature perturbations and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum. We found that if the extra anisotropic stress preexisted before the neutrino decoupling, the cancellation of the anisotropic stress of neutrinos and extra anisotropic stress could lead to a spectrum that could reproduce the observed CMB power spectrum.