Magnetogenesis, spectator fields and CMB signatures

A viable class of magnetogenesis models can be constructed by coupling the kinetic term of the hypercharge to a spectator field whose dynamics does not affect the inflationary evolution. The magnetic power spectrum is explicitly related to the power spectrum of (adiabatic) curvature inhomogeneities when the quasi-de Sitter stage of expansion is driven by a single scalar degree of freedom. Depending upon the value of the slow-roll parameters, the amplitude of smoothed magnetic fields over a (comoving) Mpc scale can be as large as 0.01-0.1 nG at the epoch of the gravitational collapse of the protogalaxy. The contributions of the magnetic fields to the Sachs-Wolfe plateau and to the temperature autocorrelations in the Doppler region compare favourably with the constraints imposed by galactic magnetogenesis. Stimulating lessons are drawn on the interplay between magnetogenesis models and their possible CMB signatures. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.