We continue investigation of the hidden plane-mirror symmetry in the distribution of excursion sets in cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy maps, previously noticed in the three-year data of the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe (WMAP), using the WMAP 5 years maps. The symmetry is shown to have higher significance, χ^2 < 1.7, for low multipoles \ell < 5, while disappearing at larger multipoles, χ^2 > 3.5 for \ell > 10. The study of the sum and difference maps of temperature inhomogeneity regions, along with simulated maps, confirms its existence.The properties of these mirroring symmetries are compatible with those produced by the Sachs-Wolfe effect in the presence of an anomalously large component of horizon-size density perturbations, independent of one of the spatial coordinates, and/or a slab-like spatial topology of the Universe.
We investigate the effect of dark energy on the limits on the shear anisotropy in spatially homogeneous Bianchi cosmological models obtained from measurements of the temperature anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. We shall primarily assume that the dark energy is modelled by a cosmological constant. In general, we find that there are tighter bounds on the shear than in models with no cosmological constant, although the limits are (Bianchi) model dependent. In addition, there are special spatially homogeneous cosmological models whose rate of expansion is highly anisotropic, but wh…
Observations of the high degree of isotropy of the cosmic microwave background are commonly believed to indicate that the Universe is `almost' Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (at least since the time of last scattering). Theoretical support for this belief comes from the so-called Ehlers-Geren-Sachs Theorem. We show that a generalization of this theorem rules out any strong magnetic fields in the Universe. Our theoretical result is model-independent and includes the case of inhomogeneous magnetic fields, complementing previous results. We thus prove that cosmic microwave background observa…
We offer a method of calculating the source term in the line-of-sight integral for cosmic microwave background anisotropies without using a truncated partial-wave expansion in the Boltzmann hierarchy.
We consider a modification of the Heisenberg algebra with the non-vanishing commutator of scalar field operators. We then identify the scalar field with the second quantized inflaton fluctuation and calculate effects of microcausality violation on the temperature anisotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation.
The properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation provide unique constraints on cosmological models, i.e. on the content, history, and evolution of the Universe. I discuss the latest measurements of the spectral and spatial properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Recent measurements from NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, and from balloon-borne and ground-based platforms, are summarized and their cosmological implications are discussed.
We examine the effects Lorentz violation on observations of cosmic microwave background radiation. In particular, we focus on changes in polarization caused by vacuum birefringence. We place stringent constraints on previously untested violations.
I review the discovery of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation. The underlying theory and the implications for cosmology are reviewed, and I describe the prospects for future progress.
We study the complex visibilities of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies that are observables in interferometric observations of the cosmic microwave background, using the multipole expansion methods commonly adopted in analyzing single-dish experiments. This allows us to recover the properties of the visibilities that is obscured in the flat-sky approximation. Discussions of the window function, multipole resolution, instrumental noise, pixelization, and polarization are given.
We have independently measured the genus topology of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background seen by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). A genus analysis of the WMAP data indicates consistency with Gaussian random-phase initial conditions, as predicted by standard inflation.
Using the WMAP cosmic microwave background data it is shown that collisions between Alfven wave packets and the cascades generated by these collisions (the Iroshnikov model) can determine the photon temperature fluctuations for arcminute scales on the last scattering surface.
It has been recently argued that higher dimensional gravity theories may manifest themselves not only at short microscopic distances but also at large cosmological scales. We study the constraints that cosmic microwave background measurements set on such large distance modifications of the gravitational potential.
I present a briefly summary of the current status of inflationary models versus topological defects scenarios, as the mechanisms which could have induced the initial density perturbations, which left an imprint on the cosmic microwave backgound radiation anisotropies.
We reconsider the effects of photon-graviton conversion in a primordial magnetic field upon the cosmic microwave background radiation. We argue that plasma effects make the photon-graviton conversion process negligible.
Various issues concerning the impact of inflationary models on parameter estimation from the cosmic microwave background are reviewed, with particular focus on the range of possible outcomes of inflationary models and on the amount which might be learnt about inflation from the microwave background.
We present the main scientific goals and characteristics of the ESA Planck satellite mission, as well as the main features of the survey strategy and simulated performance in terms of measuring the temperature and polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background fluctuations.
We discuss a minimal canonical modification of electrodynamics in order to account for ultraviolet Lorentz violating effects. This modification creates a birefringence that rotates the polarization planes from different directions. Such effects might be detectable in the anisotropic polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation.
In the framework of inflationary models with non-vacuum initial states for cosmological perturbations, we study non-Gaussian signatures on the cosmic microwave background radiation produced by a broken-scale-invariant model which incorporates a feature at a privileged scale in the primordial power spectrum.
The angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background has been measured out to sufficiently small angular scale to encompass a few acoustic oscillations. We use a phenomenological fit to the angular power spectrum to quantify the statistical significance of these oscillations and discuss the cosmological implications of such a finding.
Recently high quality data of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies have been published. In this work we study to which extent the cosmological parameters determined by using this data depend on assumptions about the initial conditions. We show that for generic initial conditions, not only the best fit values are very different but, and this is our main result, the allowed parameter range enlarges dramatically.
We present preliminary results of TRIS, an experiment dedicated to the search of deviations from a pure planckian distribution in the spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background at frequencies close to 1 GHz
I give a status report and outlook concerning the use of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies to constrain the inflationary cosmology, and stress its crucial role as an underlying paradigm for the estimation of cosmological parameters.
If the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is rotated in a frequency-independent manner as it propagates from the surface of last scatter, it may introduce a B-mode polarization. Here I show that measurement of higher-order TE, EE, EB, and TB correlations induced by this rotation can be used to reconstruct the rotation angle as a function of position on the sky. This technique can be used to distinguish primordial B modes from those induced by rotation. The effects of rotation can be distinguished geometrically from similar effects due to cosmic shear.
We summarize the physical mechanism by which the Cosmic Microwave Background acquires a small degree of polarization. We discuss the imprint left by gravitational waves and the use of polarization as a test of the inflationary paradigm. We discuss some physical processes that affect the CMB polarization after recombination such as gravitational lensing and the reionization of the universe.
We briefly review certain aspects of cosmic microwave background anisotropies as generated in passive and active models of structure formation. We then focus on cosmic strings based models and discuss their status in the light of current high-resolution observations from the BOOMERanG, MAXIMA and DASI collaborations. Upcoming megapixel experiments will have the potential to look for non-Gaussian features in the CMB temperature maps with unprecedented accuracy. We therefore devote the last part of this review to treat the non-Gaussianity of the microwave background and present a method for comp…
We report on a current investigation of the anisotropy pattern induced by cosmic strings on the cosmic microwave background radiation (MBR). We have numerically evolved a network of cosmic strings from a redshift of $Z = 100$ to the present and calculated the anisotropies which they induce. Based on a limited number of realizations, we have compared the results of our simulations with the observations of the COBE-DMR experiment. We have obtained a preliminary estimate of the string mass-per-unit-length $μ$ in the cosmic string scenario.
The physics of the origin and evolution of CMB anisotropies is described. I explain the idea and status of cosmic parameter estimation and follow it up with critical comments on its dependence on model assumptions and initial conditions.
We present a strategy for a statistically rigorous Bayesian approach to the problem of determining cosmological parameters from the results of observations of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave radiation background. We propose the application of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, specifically the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, to estimate the parameters. A complete statistical analysis is presented, with the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm described in detail.
This set of lectures provides an overview of the basic theory and phenomenology of the cosmic microwave background. Topics include a brief historical review; the physics of temperature and polarization fluctuations; acoustic oscillations of the primordial plasma; the space of inflationary cosmological models; current and potential constraints on these models from the microwave background; and constraints on inflation.
A recently proposed mechanism for large-scale structure in string cosmology --based on massless axionic seeds-- is further analyzed and extended to the acoustic-peak region. Existence, structure, and normalization of the peaks turn out to depend crucially on the overall evolution of extra dimensions during the pre-big bang phase: conversely, precise cosmic microwave background anisotropy data in the acoustic-peak region will provide, within the next decade, a window on string-theory's extra dimensions before their eventual compactification.
Standard cosmology connects the scale generated at late times by the cosmological constant with that generated in early times by the energy dynamics. Assuming dark energy de-coherence occurs during early times when the scale parameter expansion rate is no longer supra-luminal specifies a class of cosmological models in which the cosmic microwave background fluctuation amplitude at last scattering is approximately $10^{-5}$.
The breakdown of statistical homogeneity and isotropy of cosmic perturbations is a generic feature of ultra large scale structure of the cosmos, in particular, of non trivial cosmic topology. The statistical isotropy (SI) of the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuations (CMB anisotropy) is sensitive to this breakdown on the largest scales comparable to, and even beyond the cosmic horizon. We propose a set of measures, $κ_\ell$ ($\ell=1,2,3, ...$) which for non-zero values indicate and quantify statistical isotropy violations in a CMB map. We numerically compute the predicted $κ_\ell…
The upcoming satellite missions MAP and Planck will measure the spectrum of fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background with unprecedented accuracy. We discuss the prospect of using these observations to distinguish among proposed models of inflationary cosmology.
We summarize the theoretical and observational status of the study of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. Its thermodynamic spectrum is a robust prediction of the Hot Big Bang cosmology and has been confirmed observationally. There are now 76 observations of Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy, which we present in a table with references. We discuss the theoretical origins of these anisotropies and explain the standard jargon associated with their observation.
We compute cosmic microwave background angular power spectra for scaling seed models of structure formation. A generic parameterization of the energy momentum tensor of the seeds is employed. We concentrate on two regions of parameter space inspired by global topological defects: O(4) texture models and the large-N limit of O(N) models. We use $χ^{2}$ fitting to compare these models to recent flat-band power measurements of the cosmic microwave background. Only scalar perturbations are considered.
We formulate a gradual dynamical transition from a power-law inflation era with a scalar field to a radiation era with no scalar field including inhomogeneous perturbations to the Friedmann- Robertson-Walker universe. We show that for the cosmic microwave background radiation fluctuations this is excellently approximated by a sudden transition, with application of the Lichnerowicz conditions, both for density and gravitational wave perturbations.
Standard D-term inflation is studied in the framework of supergravity. D-term inflation produces cosmic strings, however it can still be compatible with CMB measurements without invoking any new physics. The cosmic strings contribution to the CMB data is not constant, nor dominant, contrary to some previous results. Using current CMB measurements, the free parameters (gauge and superpotential couplings, as well as the Fayet-Iliopoulos term) of D-term inflation are constrained.
The cosmic microwave background anisotropy is sensitive to the slope and amplitude of primordial energy density and gravitational wave fluctuations, the baryon density, the Hubble constant, the cosmological constant, the ionization history, {\it etc.} In this Letter, we examine the degree to which these factors can be separately resolved from combined small- and large-angular scale anisotropy observations. We isolate directions of degeneracy in this cosmic parameter space, but note that other cosmic observations can break the degeneracy. (Correction to Eq. 4)
Using an analytical model for the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies produced by textures, we compute the resulting collapsed three--point correlation function and the {\it rms} expected value due to the cosmic variance. We apply our calculations to the {\sl COBE}--DMR experiment and test the consistency of the model with the observational results. We also show that an experiment with smaller angular resolution can put bounds to the model parameters.
The Extended Self-Similarity (ESS) of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation has been studied using recent data obtained by the space-craft based Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. Using the ESS and the high angular scale resolution (arcminutes) of the data it is shown that the CMB temperature space {\it increments} exhibit considerable and systematic declination from Gaussianity for high order moments at the small angular scales. Moreover, the CMB space increment ESS exponents have remarkably close values to the ESS exponents observed in turbulence (in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence).
Phase transitions taking place during the inflationary epoch give rise to bubbles of true vacuum embedded in the false vacuum. These bubbles can imprint a distinctive signal on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We evaluate the feasibility of detecting these signatures with waveletsin CMB maps, such as those that will be made available by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Planck mission.
We give a brief review of the physics of acoustic oscillations in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. As an example of the impact of their detection in cosmology, we show how the present data on CMB angular power spectrum on sub-degree scales can be used to constrain dark energy cosmological models.
We present a formalism for analyzing interferometric observations of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy and polarization data. The formalism is based upon the ell-space expansion of the angular power spectrum favoured in recent years. Explicit discussions of maximum likelihood analysis, power spectrum reconstruction, parameter estimation, imaging and polarization are given. As an example, several calculations for the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) and Cosmic Background Interferometer (CBI) experiments are presented.
We describe a new code to search for signatures of cosmic strings in cosmic microwave anisotropy maps. The code implements the Canny Algorithm, an edge detection algorithm designed to search for the lines of large gradients in maps. Such a gradient signature which is coherent in position space is produced by cosmic strings via the Kaiser-Stebbins effect. We test the power of our new code to set limits on the tension of the cosmic strings by analyzing simulated data with and without cosmic strings. We compare maps with a pure Gaussian scale-invariant power spectrum with maps which have a contri…
Over the last decade, cosmological observations have attained a level of precision which allows for very detailed comparison with theoretical predictions. We are beginning to learn the answers to some fundamental questions, using information contained in Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy (CMBA) data. In this talk, we briefly review some studies of the current and prospected constraints imposed by CMBA measurements on the neutrino physics and on the dark energy. As it was already announced by Scott (1999), we present some possible "new physics" from the Cosmic Microwave Background.
We revisit the issue of a correlation between the atomic hydrogen gas in our local Galaxy and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), a detection of which has been claimed in some literature. We cross-correlate the 21-cm emission of Galactic atomic hydrogen as traced by the Leiden/Argentine/Bonn Galactic HI survey with the 3-year CMB data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. We consider a number of angular scales, masks, and HI velocity slices and find no statistically significant correlation.
We present a theoretical calculation of the variance $ΔC_l$ of the CMB anisotropy power spectrum $\langle C_l\rangle$ caused by gravitational waves based on quantum field theory in an inflationary cosmology.
The data from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments are becoming more complex with each new experiment. A consistent way of analysing these data sets is required so that direct comparison is possible between the various experimental results. This thesis presents several techniques that can be used to analyse CMB data.
We combine detections of anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation with observations of inhomogeneity in the large-scale distribution of galaxies to test the predictions of models of cosmological structure formation. This combination probes spatial scales varying by three orders of magnitude, including a significant region where the two types of data overlap. We examine Cold Dark Matter models with adiabatic density perturbations, isocurvature models, and a topological defects model. We set upper limits on the neutrino mass and find the primordial power spectrum needed to reconci…
We present Archeops, a balloon-borne bolometer experiment designed to map a large part of the sky at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The main scientific goal is to study the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies on all scales, in order to properly derive the cosmological parameters of the Universe. We present the sky coverage map of the first scientific flight.
Possible Lorentz-violating effects in the cosmic microwave background are studied. We provide a systematic classification of renormalizable and nonrenormalizable operators for Lorentz violation in electrodynamics and use polarimetric observations to search for the associated violations.
We present results obtained with the PRONAOS balloon-borne experiment on interstellar dust. In particular, the submillimeter / millimeter spectral index is found to vary between roughly 1 and 2.5 on small scales (3.5' resolution). This could have implications for component separation in Cosmic Microwave Background maps.
We discuss the photoionization of the intergalactic medium by early formed quasars and propose a mechanism which could generate measurable temperature fluctuations $δ_{T }~=~ΔT/T$ of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Early quasars produce individual ionized regions around themselves. We evaluate both thermal and kinetic (first-order Doppler) Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effects associated with those ionized regions.
We report a search for signatures of cosmic strings in the the Cosmic Microwave Background data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. We used a digital filter designed to search for individual cosmic strings and found no evidence for them in the WMAP CMB anisotropies to a level of $ΔT/T \sim 0.29$ mK. This corresponds to an absence of cosmic strings with $ Gμ\ga 1.07 \times 10^{-5}$ for strings moving with velocity $v = c/\sqrt{2}$. Unlike previous work, this limit does not depend on an assumed string abundance. We have searched the WMAP data for evidence of a cosmic string recently r…
We describe the design and performance of a microwave polarimeter used to make precision measurements of polarized astrophysical radiation in three microwave frequency bands spanning 26-36 GHz. The instrument uses cooled HEMT amplifiers in a correlation polarimeter configuration to achieve high sensitivity and long-term stability. The instrument demonstrates long term stability and has produced the most restrictive upper limits to date on the large angular scale polarization of the 2.7 K cosmic microwave background radiation.
In the context of SUSY GUTs, GUT scale cosmic strings formed at the end of hybrid inflation are compatible with currently available CMB measurements. The maximum allowed cosmic strings contribution to the CMB data constrains the free parameters (mass scales, couplings) of inflationary models. For F-term inflation either the superpotential coupling must be fine tuned or one has to invoke the curvaton mechanism. D-term inflation should be addressed in the framework of SUGRA. We find that the cosmic strings contribution is not constant, contrary to some previous results. Using CMB measurements we…
Two types of cosmology are discussed and their implications for the observed cmb (cosmic microwave background radiation) dipole are described. Theorems useful for understanding the cause for a cmb dipole are presented. Since the present peculiar velocity of the solar system relative to the GA (Great Attracter) cannot explain the observed cmb dipole, the author presents the possibility of Hubble flow of the GA as a cause in one case and a further peculiar velocity of the GA in the other case.
We present configurations of polarimeters which measure the three linear Stokes parameters of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation with a nearly diagonal error matrix, independent of the global orientation of the polarimeters in the focal plane. These configurations also provide the smallest possible error box volume.
Observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) are discussed, with particular emphasis on current ground-based experiments and on future satellite, balloon and interferometer experiments. Observational techniques and the effects of contaminating foregrounds are highlighted. Recent CMB data is used with large scale structure (LSS) data to constrain cosmological parameters and the complementary nature of CMB, LSS and supernova distance data is emphasized.
We investigate which experiments are better suited to test the robust prediction that cosmic strings do not produce secondary Doppler peaks. We propose a statistic for detecting oscillations in the $C^l$ spectrum, and study its statistical relevance given the truth of an inflationary competitor to cosmic strings. The analysis is performed for single-dish experiments and interferometers, subject to a variety of noise levels and scanning features. A high resolution of 0.2 degrees is found to be required for single-dish experiments with realistic levels of noise. Interferometers appear to be more…
