Related papers: WMAP, Planck, cosmic rays and unconventional cosmo…
We argue that the observed large-scale cosmic microwave anomalies, discovered by WMAP and confirmed by the Planck satellite, are most naturally explained in the context of a marginally-open universe. Particular focus is placed on the dipole…
We discuss the cosmological implications as well as possible observability of massive, stable, colored particles which often appear in the discussion of physics beyond the standard model. We argue that if their masses are more than a few…
(Abridged) A simple six-parameter LCDM model provides a successful fit to WMAP data, both when the data are analyzed alone and in combination with other cosmological data. Even so, it is appropriate to search for any hints of deviations…
We consider the effects of new light species on the Cosmic Microwave Background. In the massless limit, these effects can be parameterized in terms of a single number, the relativistic degrees of freedom. We perform a thorough survey of…
The residuals of the power spectra of WMAP and Planck's cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies data are known to exhibit a few interesting anomalies at different scales with marginal statistical significance. Combining bottom-up and…
We intend to show how fundamental science is drawn from the patterns in the temperature and polarization fields of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, and thus to motivate the field of CMB research. We discuss the field's…
A new Planckian distribution for cosmologies with photon creation is derived using thermodynamics and semiclassical considerations. This spectrum is preserved during the evolution of the universe and compatible with the present spectral…
Non-critical String Cosmologies are offered as an alternative to Standard Big Bang Cosmology. The new features encompassed within the dilaton dependent non-critical terms affect the dynamics of the Universe\'s evolution in an unconventional…
Cosmic strings are predicted in many models beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In models which admit strings, a network of strings will inevitably be formed in a phase transition in the early universe and will persist to the…
Combined analyses of WMAP 3-year and ACBAR Cosmic Microwave Anisotropies angular power spectra have presented evidence for gravitational lensing >3 sigma level. This signal could provide a relevant test for cosmology. After evaluating and…
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…
The first observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from NASA's \emph{Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe} (WMAP) led to finding `alignment' anomalies not expected from fluctuations in the isotropic cosmological model. We study…
Details of how the primordial plasma recombined and how the universe later reionized are currently somewhat uncertain. This uncertainty can restrict the accuracy of cosmological parameter measurements from the Cosmic Microwave Background…
Previous claims of significant evidence for mirror-parity in the large-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) experiment have been recently echoed in the first study of isotropy and…
Gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays provide an important testing ground for fundamental physics. A simple-minded analysis of some gamma-ray bursts would lead to a huge estimate of the overall energy emitted, and this…
Rapid progress has been made in observations of the temperature anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). These observations have enabled cosmologists to characterize the state of the universe at recombination, and…
Recent estimates of cosmological parameters derived from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies are based on the assumption that we know the precise amount of energy density in relativistic particles in the universe, $\omega_{rel}$,…
In a recent preprint ("CCC-predicted low-variance circles in the CMB sky and LCDM"), Gurzadyan and Penrose (2011) claim for the second time to find evidence for pre-Big Bang activity in the form of concentric circles of low variance in the…
Measurements of CMB anisotropy and, more recently, polarization have played a very important role in cosmology. Besides precise determination of various parameters of the `standard' cosmological model, observations have also established…
The B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides a unique window into tensor perturbations from inflationary gravitational waves. Survey effects complicate the estimation and description of the power spectrum on the…