Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
Evidence for gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background polarization from cross-correlation with the
P A R Ade1, Y Akiba2, A E Anthony3
1School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3XQ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We reconstruct the gravitational lensing convergence signal from cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization data taken by the Polarbear experiment and cross-correlate it with cosmic infrared background maps from the Herschel satellite. From the cross spectra, we obtain evidence for gravitational lensing of the CMB polarization at a statistical significance of 4.0σ and indication of the presence of a lensing B-mode signal at a significance of 2.3σ. We demonstrate that our results are not biased by instrumental and astrophysical systematic errors by performing null tests, checks with simulated and real data, and analytical calculations. This measurement of polarization lensing, made via the robust cross-correlation channel, not only reinforces POLARBEAR auto-correlation measurements, but also represents one of the early steps towards establishing CMB polarization lensing as a powerful new probe of cosmology and astrophysics.
Related Concept Videos
Detection of Black Holes
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy: Overview
Different compounds display unique properties due to their...
Space-Time Curvature and the General Theory of Relativity
This has been verified in many experiments. However, space and time are no longer absolute. Two observers moving relative to one another do not agree on the length of objects or the passage of time. The mechanics of objects based on Newton's laws of...
Interference and Diffraction
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
IR Spectrum Peak Intensity: Dipole Moment

