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Cosmic microwave background polarization due to scattering in clusters |
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| Authors: | M. Shimon Y. Rephaeli B. W. O'Shea M. L. Norman |
| Affiliation: | School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel;Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0424, USA;Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801-3080, USA;Theoretical Astrophysics Group, Mail Stop B227, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA |
| Abstract: | Scattering of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) in clusters of galaxies polarizes the radiation. We explore several polarization components which have their origin in the kinematic quadrupole moments induced by the motion of the scattering electrons, either directed or random. Polarization levels and patterns are determined in a cluster simulated by the hydrodynamical enzo code. We find that polarization signals can be as high as ∼1 μK , a level that may be detectable by upcoming CMB experiments. |
| Keywords: | polarization scattering cosmic microwave background |