Related papers: A model-independent test for scale-dependent non-G…
We investigate the use of wavelet transforms in detecting and characterising non-Gaussian structure in maps of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We apply the method to simulated maps of the Kaiser-Stebbins effect due to cosmic strings…
The decomposition of a signal on the sphere with the steerable wavelet constructed from the second Gaussian derivative gives access to the orientation, signed-intensity, and elongation of the signal's local features. In the present work,…
We review the basic hypotheses which motivate the statistical framework used to analyze the cosmic microwave background, and how that framework can be enlarged as we relax those hypotheses. In particular, we try to separate as much as…
Cosmic microwave background observations are most commonly analyzed by estimating the power spectrum. In the limit where the CMB statistics are perfectly Gaussian, this extracts all the information, but the CMB also contains detectable…
We introduce an exact Bayesian approach to search for non-Gaussianity of local type in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation data. Using simulated CMB temperature maps, the newly developed technique is compared against the…
We use simulated maps of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy to quantify the ability of different statistical tests to discriminate between Gaussian and non-Gaussian models. Despite the central limit theorem on large angular scales,…
A convincing detection of primordial non-Gaussianity in the cosmic background radiation (CMB) is essential to probe the physics of the early universe. Since a single statistical estimator can hardly be suitable to detect the various…
Searching for and charactering the non-Gaussianity (NG) of a given field has been a vital task in many fields of science, because we expect the consequences of different physical processes to carry different statistical properties. Here we…
We present a Gaussianity test of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization by analyzing the statistics of unpolarized points in the sky, classified into three distinct types: saddles, comets, and beaks. This classification of…
We derive a general expression for the probability of observing deviations from statistical isotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) if the primordial fluctuations are non-Gaussian and extend to superhorizon scales. The primary…
We adapt the smooth tests of goodness of fit developed by Rayner and Best to the study of the non-Gaussianity of interferometric observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The interferometric measurements (visibilities) are…
[Abridged]: A detection or nondetection of primordial non-Gaussianity by using the CMB data is crucial not only to discriminate inflationary models but also to test alternative scenarios. Non-Gaussianity offers, therefore, a powerful probe…
The method of constrained randomisation is applied to three-dimensional simulated galaxy distributions. With this technique we generate for a given data set surrogate data sets which have the same linear properties as the original data…
The trispectrum of the cosmic microwave background can be used to assess the level of non-Gaussianity on cosmological scales. It probes the fourth order moment, as a function of angular scale, of the probability distribution function of…
The detection of primordial non-Gaussianity could provide a powerful means to test various inflationary scenarios. Although scale-invariant non-Gaussianity (often described by the $f_{NL}$ formalism) is currently best constrained by the…
The detection of non-Gaussianity in the CMB data would rule out a number of inflationary models. A null detection of non-Gaussianity, instead, would exclude alternative models for the early universe. Thus, a detection or non-detection of…
The assumption of Gaussianity of the primordial perturbations plays an important role in modern cosmology. The most direct test of this hypothesis consists in testing Gaussianity of the CMB maps. Counting the pixels with the temperatures in…
We compare the latest results from CMB experiments at scales around $l_e \sim 150$ over different parts of the sky to test the hypothesis that they are drawn from a Gaussian distribution, as is usually assumed. Using both the diagonal and…
The presence of non--Gaussian features in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation maps represents one of the most long--awaited clues in the search for the actual structure of the primordial radiation, still needing confirmation.…
Some analyses of recent cosmic microwave background (CMB) data have provided hints that there are deviations from Gaussianity in the WMAP CMB temperature fluctuations. Given the far reaching consequences of such a non-Gaussianity for our…