Polarization Peregrinations: Using Cosmic Lampposts to Find Keys to Nature’s Laws

Researchers using data from the Planck satellite, a spacecraft measuring the cosmic microwave background (CMB), say they’ve recently observed a hint (at 99.2 percent confidence) of parity violation on cosmic scales. If confirmed, this result would have profound implications, not just for cosmology but for all of fundamental physics. In this lecture, Brian Keating will review the basis for the claimed hint of so-called ‘Chern-Simons’ (yes, that Simons!) cosmic birefringence. He will outline steps scientists are taking to definitively confirm (or falsify) this provocative claim using future CMB experiments like the Simons Array, the Simons Observatory, as well as optical polarization data from unique cosmic ‘lampposts’ (quasars and AGN) using small (0.5-meter class) telescopes.

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