Related papers: Orbifold Line Topology and the Cosmic Microwave Ba…
We consider a universe with a non-classical stringy topology that has fixed points. We concentrate on the simplest example, an orbifold point, and study its observable imprints on the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We show that an…
We present an update to the search for a non-trivial topology of the universe by searching for matching circle pairs in the cosmic microwave background using the WMAP 7 year data release. We extend the exisiting bounds to encompass a wider…
In the last decade, the study of the overall shape of the universe, called Cosmic Topology, has become testable by astronomical observations, especially the data from the Cosmic Microwave Background (hereafter CMB) obtained by WMAP and…
We impose constraints on the topology of the Universe determined from a search for matched circles in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy patterns of the 7-year WMAP data. We pay special attention to the sensitivity…
We revisit the alignments of the largest structures observed in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using the seven and nine-year WMAP and first-year Planck data releases. The observed alignments -- the quadrupole with the octopole and…
We impose constraints on the topology of the Universe determined from a search for matched circles in the temperature anisotropy patterns of the 7-year WMAP data. We pay special attention to the sensitivity of the method to residual…
[Abridged] An observable signature of a detectable nontrivial spatial topology of the Universe is the circles-in-the-sky in the CMB sky. In the most general search, pairs of circles with deviation from antipodality $0^\circ \leq \theta \leq…
Multiply connected space sections of the universe on a scale smaller than the horizon size can leave an imprint on cosmic microwave background polarization maps, in such a way that the so-called ``circles-in-the-sky'' method can be used to…
Recent studies of the detectability of cosmic topology of nearly flat universes have often concentrated on the range of values of $\Omega_{0}$ given by current observations. Here we study the consequences of taking the bounds on…
The Einstein field equations of general relativity constrain the local curvature at every point in spacetime, but say nothing about the global topology of the Universe. Cosmic microwave background anisotropies have proven to be the most…
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) power spectrum derived from the first year WMAP data demonstrates an intriguing lack of power at large scales that cannot be accounted for within the framework of the standard cosmological model. We…
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization observations indicate that in the best-fit $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter model of the Universe, the local geometry is consistent with at most a small amount of positive or negative…
An important, and potentially detectable, signature of a non-trivial topology for the universe is the presence of so called circles-in-the-sky in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Recent searches, confined to antipodal and nearly…
Spatial correlations of the cubic 3-torus topology are analysed using the Planck 2013 data. The spatial-correlation method for detecting multiply connected spaces is based on the fact that positions on the cosmic microwave background (CMB)…
The first year data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe are used to place stringent constraints on the topology of the Universe. We search for pairs of circles on the sky with similar temperature patterns along each circle. We…
Planck CMB temperature maps allow detection of large-scale departures from homogeneity and isotropy. We search for topology with a fundamental domain nearly intersecting the last scattering surface (comoving distance $\chi_r$). For most…
A search for matched circle pairs of similar temperature fluctuations in the final WMAP 9yr data is carried out. Such a signature is expected if the space of the Universe is multiply connected. We investigate the relation between the pixel…
The significance to which the cosmic microwave background observations by the satellite COBE can be used to refute a specific observationally based hypothesis for the global topology (3-manifold) of the Universe is investigated, by a new…
If the assumption that physical space has a trivial topology is dropped, then the Universe may be described by a multiply connected Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre model on a sub-horizon scale. Specific candidates for the multiply connected space…
What is the shape of space is a long-standing question in cosmology. In this talk I review recent advances in cosmic topology since it has entered a new era of experimental tests. High redshift surveys of astronomical sources and accurate…