CMB polarization: weak lensing in the causal formalism

• Grant number: 09/09251-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2009
• End date: September 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Extragalactic Astrophysics
• Principal Investigator: Luis Raul Weber Abramo
• Grantee: Paulo Henrique Flose Reimberg
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 04/13668-0 - Cosmology in the era of precision: dark energy, dark matter and background cosmic radiation, AP.TEM

Abstract

CMB polarization is the next frontier in the phenomenology of the early universe. It is caused by Thomson scattering of CMB photons off free electrons, and the polarization imprint carries information about the temperature (and distribution) of matter and radiation at the epoch of scattering -- and about the past light-cone of the space time point at which the scattering occurred. CMB polarization also may carry imprint of a very early inflationary phase in the form of a magnetic-type parity Eigen mode (the B-mode) generated by gravity waves from inflation. Hence, it is critical to extract all possible information from that observable. Our aim is to employ a recently developed formalism for CMB polarization which is manifestly causal and works in real space. This means spatial information is retained at all epochs, and hence the phase information in polarization carries the signal which is spatially correlated with temperature fluctuations. In this project we will study the weak lensing of the polarization signal with this formalism. We will study the spatial correlations of the B-mode which is generated by weak lensing with large-scale structure, and try to extract cosmological information from that mode. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

REIMBERG, Paulo Henrique Flose. Physical mathematical aspects on the treatment of gravitational lensing on the cosmic microwave background. 2013. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI) São Paulo.