2003/05/15 by Matias Zaldarriaga, Zaldarriaga, Matias
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0305272
Review written for the Carnegie Observatories Centenial Symposium II
arxiv created 2003/05/15 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We summarize the physical mechanism by which the Cosmic Microwave Background acquires a small degree of polarization. We discuss the imprint left by gravitational waves and the use of polarization as a test of the inflationary paradigm. We discuss some physical processes that affect the CMB polarization after recombination such as gravitational lensing and the reionization of the universe.