ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Dr Gianni Bernardi

The diffuse polarized synchrotron emission from the Galaxy as foreground to the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarisation measurements - Dr Gianni Bernardi Colloquium

The Cosmic Microwave Background Polarisation (CMBP) is one of the
most promising research fields in cosmology. First results from the DASI
and WMAP experiments have even emphasized its importance in studying the
reionization of the Universe and in constraining cosmological parameters.
Difficulties in measuring the CMBP are due to its intrinsic low signal and
due to the potential contamination of polarized foregrounds, in particular
the synchrotron diffuse emission which is expected to be the most relevant
foreground source up to about 100 GHz. I discuss this problem showing, in
particular, results of ATCA observations of high-latitude sky patches
with low total-intensity emission.