Cosmological signature of new parity-violating interactions

Are there any manifestations of parity violation other than these observed in weak interactions? A map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temper ature and polarization will provide a new signature of P violation. We exam ine two classes of P-violating interactions that would give rise to such a signature. The first interaction leads to a cosmological birefringence, pos sibly driven by quintessence. The other interaction leads to an asymmetry i n the amplitude of right- versus left-handed gravitational waves produced d uring inflation. The Planck Surveyor should improve upon the current sensit ivity to birefringence. While the primordial effect would most likely elude detection by MAP and Planck, it may be detectable with a future dedicated CMB polarization experiment.