Last scattering, relic gravitons and the circular polarization of the CMB

Abstract

The tensor contribution to the $V$-mode polarization induced by a magnetized plasma at last scattering vanishes exactly. Conversely a polarized background of relic gravitons cannot generate a $V$-mode polarization. The reported results suggest that, in the magnetized $\Lambda$CDM paradigm, the dominant source of circular dichroism stems from the large-scale fluctuations of the spatial curvature.