1998/09/23 by John P. Ralston, JOHN P. RALSTON, Pankaj Jain +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Birefringence #Cosmological model #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Covariant transformation #Electrical and Electromagnetic Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Gravitational wave #Observable #Parity (physics) #Polarization (electrochemistry) #astro-ph #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1142/s0218271899000377
published as Int.J.Mod.Phys. D8 (1999) 537-547 · 8 pages, revtex, 1 postscript figure
arxiv created 1998/09/23 · openalex publication_date 1999/08/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Polarizations of electromagnetic waves from distant galaxies are known to be correlated with the source orientations. These quantities have been used to search for signals of cosmological birefringence. We review and classify transformation properties of the polarization and source orientation observables. The classifications give a firm foundation to certain practices which have sprung up informally in the literature. Transformations under parity play a central role, showing that parity violation in emission or in the subsequent propagation is an observable phenomenon. We also discuss statistical measures, correlations and distributions which transform properly and which can be used for systematic data analysis.