[en] Photon - axion conversion within a magnetic field over cosmological distances can affect the polarization of distant objects like quasars. We report the observation of large-scale alignments of quasar polarization vectors as well as a rotation of their polarization angles with distance. This effect might be due to the presence of axions along the line of sight.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Hutsemekers, Damien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Astroph. extragalactique et observations spatiales (AEOS)
Language :
English
Title :
Probing the existence of axions with the polarization of objects at cosmological distances