Constraints on anisotropic cosmic birefringence from CMB -mode polarization
Phys. Rev. D 112, 023555 – Published 31 July, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yxmh-rh9z
Abstract
Cosmic birefringence—the rotation of the polarization plane of light as it traverses the Universe—offers a direct observational window into parity-violating physics beyond the Standard Model. In this work, we revisit the anisotropic component of cosmic birefringence, which leads to the generation of -mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Using an exact theoretical treatment beyond the thin last-scattering surface approximation, we constrain the amplitude of anisotropic birefringence with combined polarization data from SPTpol, ACT, POLARBEAR, and BICEP. The joint analysis yields a best-fit amplitude of , consistent with zero within , and we place a 95% confidence-level upper bound of . The constraint is not dominated by any single experiment and remains robust under the inclusion of a possible isotropic rotation angle. These results provide leading constraints on anisotropic cosmic birefringence from CMB -mode polarization and illustrate the potential of upcoming experiments to improve sensitivity to parity-violating effects in the early Universe.