Secondary B-mode polarization from Faraday rotation in clusters and galaxies

We revisit the polarisation induced by Faraday rotation when Cosmic Microwave Background photons traverse magnetised plasma. We compute the secondary B-mode angular power spectrum from Faraday rotation due to magnetic fields in galaxies and galaxy clusters with masses ranging from $10^{11}$ to $10^{16.5} M_\odot$. We investigate its dependence on the electron and the magnetic field profiles. Namely, we consider both the beta-profile of electron density as well as an electron density distribution based on the Navarro-Frenk-White dark matter profile. We model the magnetic field structure in galaxies and clusters motivated by recent observations. We further account for its redshift evolution and we examine the importance of its coherence length. We find that the B-mode polarisation from Faraday rotation depends on the normalisation parameter $C_l\propto \sigma_8^{5-6}$. At 30 GHz for $\sigma_8=0.8$, the B-modes from Faraday rotation range between $0.01 {\mu \rm K}^2$ and $4 \times 10^{-3} {\mu \rm K}^2$ at $l=10^4$ in the case of a maximally coherent fields. For smaller coherence lengths, those amplitudes are smaller and they peak at higher multipoles.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Accretion, Primordial Black Holes and Standard Cosmology

Primordial Black Holes evaporate due to Hawking radiation. We find that the evaporation time of primordial black holes increase when accretion of radiation is included.Thus depending on accretion efficiency more and more number of primordial black holes are existing today, which strengthens the idea that the primordial black holes are the proper candidate for dark matter.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

The Search for a Primordial Magnetic Field

Magnetic fields appear wherever plasma and currents can be found. As such, they thread through all scales in Nature. It is natural, therefore, to suppose that magnetic fields might have been formed within the high temperature environments of the big bang. Such a primordial magnetic field (PMF) would be expected to arise from and/or influence a variety of cosmological phenomena such as inflation, cosmic phase transitions, big bang nucleosynthesis, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies, the cosmic gravity wave background, and the formation of large-scale structure. In this review, we summarize the development of theoretical models for analyzing the observational consequences of a PMF. We also summarize the current state of the art in the search for observational evidence of a PMF. In particular we review the framework needed to calculate the effects of a PMF power spectrum on the CMB and the development of large scale structure. We summarize the current constraints on the PMF amplitude $B_\lambda$ and the power spectral index $n_B$ and discuss prospects for better determining these quantities in the near future.Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures, Accepted for Physics Reports 23 Feb 2012. Available online 3 March 2012. In press, corrected proo

Qweak: A Precision Measurement of the Proton's Weak Charge

The Qweak experiment at Jefferson Lab aims to make a 4% measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in elastic scattering at very low $Q^2$ of a longitudinally polarized electron beam on a proton target. The experiment will measure the weak charge of the proton, and thus the weak mixing angle at low energy scale, providing a precision test of the Standard Model. Since the value of the weak mixing angle is approximately 1/4, the weak charge of the proton $Q_w^p = 1-4 \sin^2 \theta_w$ is suppressed in the Standard Model, making it especially sensitive to the value of the mixing angle and also to possible new physics. The experiment is approved to run at JLab, and the construction plan calls for the hardware to be ready to install in Hall C in 2007. The theoretical context of the experiment and the status of its design are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX2e, to be published in CIPANP 2003 proceeding

Brans-Dicke Theory and primordial black holes in Early Matter-Dominated Era

We show that primordial black holes can be formed in the matter-dominated era with gravity described by the Brans-Dicke theory. Considering an early matter-dominated era between inflation and reheating, we found that the primordial black holes formed during that era evaporate at a quicker than those of early radiation-dominated era. Thus, in comparison with latter case, less number of primordial black holes could exist today. Again the constraints on primordial black hole formation tend towards the larger value than their radiation-dominated era counterparts indicating a significant enhancement in the formation of primordial black holes during the matter-dominaed era.Comment: 9 page