DATE2026.01.28 #Press Releases
Clues to the Left-Right Symmetry of the Universe
-A New Method to Reduce Ambiguities in Observations of Cosmic Birefringence-
Summary
A research group led by Fumihiro Naokawa, a graduate student at the Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, and Toshiya Namikawa, Project Associate Professor at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI), University of Tokyo, has conducted a detailed study of ambiguities inherent in observations of cosmic birefringence. The team has developed a method to constrain the infinitely many possible interpretations of observational results. They demonstrated that these ambiguities can be significantly reduced by using current and future observational data.
This study is the first to quantitatively address a previously overlooked ambiguity associated with the birefringence angle, the key observable quantity in cosmic birefringence. The birefringence angle is an important probe of unknown physical theories that violate the left–right symmetry of the universe, as well as a potential clue to the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The ambiguity-reduction method identified in this work provides an essential tool for future high-precision observations of cosmic birefringence and for testing the underlying physical theories responsible for its origin.
Figure：A schematic illustration of the 180-degree phase ambiguity that arises in measurements of the cosmic birefringence rotation angle.
(Credit: Naokawa, Namikawa, higgstan.com)
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Journals
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Journal name Physical Review LettersTitle of paper