Estimating the amount of vorticity generated by cosmological perturbations in the early universe

Abstract: We estimate the amount of vorticity generated at second order in cosmological perturbation theory from the coupling between first order energy density and non-adiabatic pressure, or entropy, perturbations. Assuming power law input spectra for the source terms, and working in a radiation background, we calculate the wave number dependence of the vorticity power spectrum and its amplitude. We show that the vorticity generated by this mechanism is non-negligible on small scales, and hence should be taken into consideration in current and future CMB experiments.