Professor Pedro Ferreira

Abstract:

We use the isotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background to place stringent constraints on a possible electrical charge asymmetry of the universe. We find the excess charge per baryon to be $q_{e-p}<10^{-26}e$ in the case of a uniform distribution of charge, where $e$ is the charge of the electron. If the charge asymmetry is inhomogeneous, the constraints will depend on the spectral index, $n$, of the induced magnetic field and range from $q_{e-p}<5\times 10^{-20}e$ ($n=-2$) to $q_{e-p}<2\times 10^{-26}e$ ($n\geq 2$). If one could further assume that the charge asymmetries of individual particle species are not anti-correlated so as to cancel, this would imply, for photons, $q_\gamma< 10^{-35}e$; for neutrinos, $q_\nu<4\times10^{-35}e$; and for heavy (light) dark matter particles $q_{\rm dm}<4\times10^{-24}e$ ($q_{\rm dm}<4\times10^{-30}e$).

Abstract:

We review the physics of the Grishchuck-Zel'dovich effect which describes the impact of large amplitude, super-horizon gravitational field fluctuations on the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy power spectrum. Using the latest determination of the spectrum by WMAP, we infer a lower limit on the present length-scale of such fluctuations of 3927 times the cosmological particle horizon (at the 95% confidence level).