Cosmic birefringence -- a rotation of the linear polarization plane of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as they travel through space -- is a key observational effect on CMB as it provides a way to search for parity-violating physics in cosmology. Recent measurements of the cross-correlation between the even-parity E-modes and odd-parity B-modes in the Planck polarization map suggest a tantalizing hint of cosmic birefringence. A possible candidate for the origin of cosmic birefringence is pseudoscalar "axionlike'' fields. In this talk, after briefly reviewing the observations of isotropic and anisotropic cosmic birefringence, I will discuss the importance of the time evolution of axionlike fields to explore the origin of cosmic birefringence.
22/05/2024
SPEAKER: Prof. Toshiya Namikawa (Kavli IPMU, The University of Tokyo)
We kindly invite you to the Tor Vergata Astrophysics Seminar on Wednesday May 22nd at 16:30 CEST.
Join IN PERSON in Aula Galileo (Physics Department) or online on the MS Teams at: Connection