The Noisy Universe
Abstract
We present observational constraints on large-scale white noise (LSWN) in the cosmic density field, a phenomenon predicted to arise from non-linear mode coupling during cosmological evolution. Building on the theoretical framework of Paper I, where we demonstrated that non-linearities inevitably redistribute power from small to large scales through mode mixing, we confront these predictions with current cosmological data. We modify the CLASS Boltzmann code to incorporate a white noise component in the primordial power spectrum and perform parameter estimation using current cosmological data. The non-detection of excess power on the largest observable scales places stringent upper bounds: at 99\% confidence. These constraints imply the primordial power spectrum must deviate from perfect scale invariance on small scales, either through a cutoff at or through running of the spectral index with . Our results demonstrate that LSWN provides a powerful probe of the primordial spectrum at scales orders of magnitude smaller than directly observable, offering unique constraints on early-universe physics.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.15803,
title = {The Noisy Universe},
author = {Gabriela Barenboim and Aurora Ireland and Albert Stebbins},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.15803},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
10 pages, 1 figure