POLARBEAR Constraints on Cosmic Birefringence and Primordial Magnetic Fields

Abstract

We constrain anisotropic cosmic birefringence using four-point correlations of even-parity $E$-mode and odd-parity $B$-mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background measurements made by the POLARization of the Background Radiation (POLARBEAR) experiment in its first season of observations. We find that the anisotropic cosmic birefringence signal from any parity-violating processes is consistent with zero. The Faraday rotation from anisotropic cosmic birefringence can be compared with the equivalent quantity generated by primordial magnetic fields if they existed. The POLARBEAR nondetection translates into a 95% confidence level (C.L.) upper limit of 93 nanogauss (nG) on the amplitude of an equivalent primordial magnetic field inclusive of systematic uncertainties. This four-point correlation constraint on Faraday rotation is about 15 times tighter than the upper limit of 1380 nG inferred from constraining the contribution of Faraday rotation to two-point correlations of $B$-modes measured by Planck in 2015. Metric perturbations sourced by primordial magnetic fields would also contribute to the $B$-mode power spectrum. Using the POLARBEAR measurements of the $B$-mode power spectrum (two-point correlation), we set a 95% C.L. upper limit of 3.9 nG on primordial magnetic fields assuming a flat prior on the field amplitude. This limit is comparable to what was found in the Planck 2015 two-point correlation analysis with both temperature and polarization. We perform a set of systematic error tests and find no evidence for contamination. This work marks the first time that anisotropic cosmic birefringence or primordial magnetic fields have been constrained from the ground at subdegree scales.

10 pages, 5 figures. Phys. Rev. D Editors' Suggestion

References in corpus (16)

• A Joint Analysis of BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck Data
• Planck intermediate results. XIX. An overview of the polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust
• Lower limit on the strength and filling factor of extragalactic magnetic fields
• CMB anisotropies from primordial inhomogeneous magnetic fields
• Parity violation constraints using 2006-2007 QUaD CMB polarization spectra
• Measurements of Sub-degree B-mode Polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background from 100 Square Degrees of SPTpol Data
• Self-Calibration of CMB Polarization Experiments
• Pseudoscalar perturbations and polarization of the cosmic microwave background
• How to De-Rotate the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization
• A general solution to the E-B mixing problem
• De-Rotation of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization: Full-Sky Formalism
• Faraday Rotation Limits on a Primordial Magnetic Field from WMAP Five-Year Data
• Constraining a spatially dependent rotation of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization
• Can topological defects mimic the BICEP2 B-mode signal?
• Can primordial magnetic fields be the origin of the BICEP2 data?
• Testing CPT Symmetry with Current and Future CMB Measurements

Cited by in corpus (77)

• The Simons Observatory: Science goals and forecasts
• The origin, evolution and signatures of primordial magnetic fields
• CMB-S4 Science Case, Reference Design, and Project Plan
• Planck 2015 results. XIX. Constraints on primordial magnetic fields
• Axion Dark Matter Detection with CMB Polarization
• Resolved magnetic dynamo action in the simulated intracluster medium
• Stringent Limit on Primordial Magnetic Fields from the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
• Parity breaking signatures from a Chern-Simons coupling during inflation: the case of non-Gaussian gravitational waves
• BICEP2 / Keck Array VIII: Measurement of gravitational lensing from large-scale B-mode polarization
• Measurements of B-mode Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background from 500 Square Degrees of SPTpol Data
• The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Constraints on Cosmic Birefringence
• Search for Magnetically Broadened Cascade Emission From Blazars with VERITAS
• The Origin of Parity Violation in Polarized Dust Emission and Implications for Cosmic Birefringence
• CMB weak-lensing beyond the Born approximation: a numerical approach
• Searching for Anisotropic Cosmic Birefringence with Polarization Data from SPTpol
• Constraints on Primordial Magnetic Fields from Planck combined with the South Pole Telescope CMB B-mode polarization measurements
• Primordial backgrounds of relic gravitons
• BICEP2 / Keck Array IX: New Bounds on Anisotropies of CMB Polarization Rotation and Implications for Axion-Like Particles and Primordial Magnetic Fields
• Future CMB constraints on cosmic birefringence and implications for fundamental physics
• Parity violation in the CMB trispectrum from the scalar sector
• Evolution of cosmic filaments and of their galaxy population from MHD cosmological simulations
• Power spectrum of domain-wall network and its implications for isotropic and anisotropic cosmic birefringence
• Testing chirality of primordial gravitational waves with Planck and future CMB data: no hope from angular power spectra
• POLOCALC: a Novel Method to Measure the Absolute Polarization Orientation of the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Constraints on direction-dependent cosmic birefringence from Planck polarization data
• Cosmic Birefringence Test of the Hubble Tension
• Constraints on primordial magnetic fields from magnetically-induced perturbations: current status and future perspectives with LiteBIRD and future ground based experiments
• On Kottler's path: origin and evolution of the premetric program in gravity and in electrodynamics
• Planck 2018 constraints on anisotropic birefringence and its cross-correlation with CMB anisotropy
• Searching for axion-like particles through CMB birefringence from string-wall networks
• BICEP / Keck XVII: Line of Sight Distortion Analysis: Estimates of Gravitational Lensing, Anisotropic Cosmic Birefringence, Patchy Reionization, and Systematic Errors
• Evolution of primordial magnetic fields during large-scale structure formation
• Foreground-Induced Biases in CMB Polarimeter Self-Calibration
• Scale-invariant helical magnetic field evolution and the duration of inflation
• Current and Future Constraints on Primordial Magnetic Fields
• Cosmic Birefringence: Cross-Spectra and Cross-Bispectra with CMB Anisotropies
• Duality and scale invariant magnetic fields from bouncing universes
• Planck intermediate results. XLIX. Parity-violation constraints from polarization data
• The evolution of primordial magnetic field since its generation
• Searching for Primordial Magnetic Fields with CMB B-modes
• Statistical Properties of Scale-Invariant Helical Magnetic Fields and Applications to Cosmology
• Revisiting Magnetogenesis during Inflation
• Magnetic Misalignment of Interstellar Dust Filaments
• Probing large-scale magnetism with the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Probing Axions through Tomography of Anisotropic Cosmic Birefringence
• Testing parity-violating physics from cosmic rotation power reconstruction
• Axion-photon Propagation in Magnetized Universe
• Cross-correlations between scalar perturbations and magnetic fields in bouncing universes
• Enhancing the cross-correlations between magnetic fields and scalar perturbations through parity violation
• Constraints on axion-like polarization oscillations in the cosmic microwave background with POLARBEAR
• Characterising cosmic birefringence in the presence of galactic foregrounds and instrumental systematic effects
• CMB Mode Coupling with Isotropic Polarization Rotation
• A New Solution for the Observed Isotropic Cosmic Birefringence Angle and its Implications for the Anisotropic Counterpart through a Boltzmann Approach
• A precise numerical estimation of the magnetic field generated around recombination
• The effects on CMB power spectra and bispectra from the polarization rotation and its correlations with temperature and E-polarization
• Reconstructing Cosmic Polarization Rotation with ResUNet-CMB
• Simultaneous determination of the cosmic birefringence and miscalibrated polarisation angles from CMB experiments
• Primordial Helical Magnetic Fields from Inflation?
• Reduced bispectrum seeded by helical primordial magnetic fields
• The Impact of Primordial Magnetic Fields on Future CMB Bounds on Inflationary Gravitational Waves
• Exact CMB B-mode power spectrum from anisotropic cosmic birefringence
• Cosmological magnetic braking and the formation of high-redshift, super-massive black holes
• Inflationary magnetogenesis: solving the strong coupling and its non-Gaussian signatures
• Measuring cosmic shear and birefringence using resolved radio sources
• Gravitational Wave -- Gauge Field Dynamics
• Tomographic constraint on anisotropic cosmic birefringence
• Statistical anisotropy from inflationary magnetogenesis
• Blind Map Level Systematics Cleaning: A Quadratic Estimator Approach
• Joint constraint on primordial gravitational waves and polarization rotation angle with current CMB polarization data
• Design and characterization of a ground-based absolute polarization calibrator for use with polarization sensitive CMB experiments
• Spectator Higgs, large-scale gauge fields and the non-minimal coupling to gravity
• Constraints on axionlike particles with different magnetic field models from the PKS 2155-304 energy spectrum
• Spin-Flavor Oscillations of Relic Neutrinos in Primordial Magnetic Field
• Constraining cosmic polarization rotation and implications for primordial B-modes
• Constraints on Axion-Like Particles from VERITAS Observations of a Flaring Radio Galaxy in the Perseus Cluster
• A short review on Quintom dark energy theory
• Detectability of Galactic Faraday Rotation in Multi-wavelength CMB Observations: A Cross-Correlation Analysis of CMB and Radio Maps