CMB spectral distortions from the decay of causally generated magnetic fields

Abstract

We improve previous calculations of the CMB spectral distortions due to the decay of primordial magnetic fields. We focus our studies on causally generated magnetic fields at the electroweak and QCD phase transitions. We also consider the decay of helical magnetic fields. We show that the decay of non-helical magnetic fields generated at either the electroweak or QCD scale produce $\mu$ and $y$-type distortions below $10^{-8}$ which are probably not detectable by a future PIXIE-like experiment. We show that magnetic fields generated at the electroweak scale must have a helicity fraction $f_{\ast }>10^{-4}$ in order to produce detectable $\mu$-type distortions. Hence a positive detection coming from the decay of magnetic fields would rule out non-helical primordial magnetic fields and provide a lower bound on the magnetic helicity.

10 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (10)

• The order of the quantum chromodynamics transition predicted by the standard model of particle physics
• Strong magnetic fields in normal galaxies at high redshifts
• Nonhelical inverse transfer of a decaying turbulent magnetic field
• Evolution of Primordial Magnetic Fields from Phase Transitions
• Beyond y and μ: the shape of the CMB spectral distortions in the intermediate epoch, 1.5x10^4 < z < 2x10^5
• Evolution of Magnetic Fields in Freely Decaying Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
• Mixing of blackbodies: entropy production and dissipation of sound waves in the early Universe
• Time Evolution of the Large-Scale Tail of Nonhelical Primordial Magnetic Fields with Back-Reaction of the Turbulent Medium
• Probing correlations of early magnetic fields using mu-distortion
• Probing early-universe phase transitions with CMB spectral distortions

Cited by in corpus (19)

• Progress on Cosmological Magnetic Fields
• The generation of helical magnetic field in a viable scenario of Inflationary Magnetogenesis
• $\mu$-Distortions or Running: A Guaranteed Discovery from CMB Spectrometry
• Microwave Spectro-Polarimetry of Matter and Radiation across Space and Time
• Constraining the primordial magnetic field with dwarf galaxy simulations
• The evolution of primordial magnetic field since its generation
• Constraints on Primordial Magnetic Fields from their impact on the ionization history with Planck 2018
• Searching for Primordial Magnetic Fields with CMB B-modes
• Magnetic heating across the cosmological recombination era: Results from 3D MHD simulations
• Probing large-scale magnetism with the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Fundamental Implications of Intergalactic Magnetic Field Observations
• LiteBIRD Science Goals and Forecasts: Primordial Magnetic Fields
• New Horizons in Cosmology with Spectral Distortions of the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Matter power spectrum induced by primordial magnetic fields: from the linear to the non-linear regime
• Effects on the CMB from magnetic field dissipation before recombination
• Revisiting constraints on primordial magnetic fields from spectral distortions of cosmic microwave background
• SPECTER: An Instrument Concept for CMB Spectral Distortion Measurements with Enhanced Sensitivity
• Can WIMPs Survive the Legacy of a Magnetised Early Universe?
• Constraining self-interacting ultrahigh-energy muon neutrinos by cosmic microwave background spectral distortion