Related papers: WMAP, Planck, cosmic rays and unconventional cosmo…
Combined data from gamma-ray telescopes and cosmic-ray detectors have produced some new surprising insights regarding intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, as well as extragalactic background light. We review some recent advances,…
We use a high-accuracy computational code to investigate the precision with which cosmological parameters could be reconstructed by future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, in particular the two satellite missions MAP and…
Direct techniques for cosmic ray observations have reached an unprecedented level of precision, unveiling fine-details of the energy spectra. I will introduce the evidence for new spectral features which has been accumulated by new…
We study CMB constraints on a model with a cosmological constant and a fraction of dark matter non-minimally coupled to a massless scalar field. In this scenario, there is an extra gravity-like fifth force which can affect the evolution of…
In this article we focus on the astrophysical results and the related cosmological implications derived from recent microwave surveys, with emphasis to those coming from the Planck mission. We critically discuss the impact of systematics…
The statistical properties of the temperature anisotropies and polarization of the of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation offer a powerful probe of the physics of the early universe. In recent works a statistical procedure based…
A comparison of the standard models in particle physics and in cosmology demonstrates that they are not compatible, though both are well established. Basics of modern cosmology are briefly reviewed. It is argued that the measurements of the…
An enormous amount of observations on Cosmic Microwave Background radiation has been collected in the last decade, and much more data are expected in the near future from planned or operating satellite missions. These datasets are a…
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is an abundant source of cosmological information. However, this information is encoded in non-trivial ways in a signal that is difficult to observe. The resulting challenges in extracting this…
A critical review of the standard paradigm for the origin of Galactic cosmic rays is presented. Recent measurements of local and far-away cosmic rays reveal unexpected behaviours, which challenge the commonly accepted scenario. These recent…
Context. The existence of a maximum correlation angle ($\theta_{max} \gtrsim 60^{\circ}$) in the two-point angular temperature correlations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, measured by WMAP and Planck, stands in sharp…
We use Bayesian model comparison to determine whether extensions to Standard-Model neutrino physics -- primarily additional effective numbers of neutrinos and/or massive neutrinos -- are merited by the latest cosmological data. Given the…
Given the proliferation of bouncing models in recent years, we gather and critically assess these proposals in a comprehensive review. The Planck data shows an unmistakably red, quasi scale-invariant, purely adiabatic primordial power…
Anomalies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) refer to features that have been observed, mostly at large angular scales, and which show some tension with the statistical predictions of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. In this work, we…
The history of the Universe and the forces that shaped it are encoded in maps of the cosmos. From understanding these maps, we gain insights into nature that are inaccessible by other means. Unfortunately, the connection between fundamental…
A primordial gravitational wave background with positive(blue) spectral index is expected in several non-standard inflationary cosmologies where the stress-energy tensor violates the null energy condition. Here we show that a sizable amount…
The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) and Planck Surveyor satellites promise to provide accurate maps of the sky at a range of frequencies and angular scales, from which it will be possible to extract estimates for cosmological parameters.…
The conventional $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model supplemented by the inflation concept describes the Universe very well. However, there are still a few concerns: new Planck data impose constraints on the shape of the inflaton potential,…
The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) is an invaluable probe of the conditions of the early universe. Recent measurements of its spatial anisotropy have allowed accurate determinations of several fundamental cosmological…
I review some theoretical ideas in cosmology different from the standard "Big Bang": the quasi-steady state model, the plasma cosmology model, non-cosmological redshifts, alternatives to non-baryonic dark matter and/or dark energy, and…