Related papers: Pi in the sky
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…
Observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) have cemented the notion that the large-scale Universe is both statistically homogeneous and isotropic. But is it invariant also under reflections? To probe this we require…
Gravitational wave bursts with memory (BWMs) can generate measurable, long-lived frequency shifts and permanent angular deflections in distant sources of light. These perturbations vary across the sky with a characteristic spatial pattern…
We use the analytical model recently introduced in Ref. \cite{lp92}, to investigate the statistics of temperature fluctuations on the cosmic microwave background (CMB), induced by topological defects. The cases of cosmic strings and…
The next generation of instruments designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) will provide a historic opportunity to open the gravitational wave window to the primordial Universe. Through high sensitivity…
It is well known that observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are highly sensitive to the spatial curvature of the Universe, k. Here we find that what is in fact being tightly constrained by small angle fluctuations is spatial…
The dimming of Type Ia supernovae could be the result of Hubble-scale inhomogeneity in the matter and spatial curvature, rather than signaling the presence of a dark energy component. A key challenge for such models is to fit the detailed…
Sky temperature map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is one of the premier probes of cosmology. To minimize instrumentally induced systematic errors, CMB anisotropy experiments measure temperature differences across the sky using…
While the standard, six-parameter, spatially flat $\Lambda$CDM model has been highly successful, certain anomalies in the cosmic microwave background bring out a tension between this model and observations. The statistical significance of…
This is a very exciting time for the CMB field. It is widely recognized that precision measurements of the CMB can provide a definitive test of cosmological models and determine their parameters accurately. At present observations give us…
Research on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is progressing rapidly. New experimental groups are popping up and two new satellites will be launched. The current enthusiasm to measure fluctuations in the CMB power spectrum at angular…
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…
Two groups [3,4] have confirmed the results of our paper concerning the actual existence of low variance circles in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) sky. They also point out that the effect does not contradict the LCDM model - a matter…
Experimental study of the anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is gathering momentum. The eagerly awaited Boomerang results have lived up to expectations. They provide convincing evidence in favor of the standard paradigm:…
We study the angular distribution of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to probe the statistical isotropy of the universe by using precise full-sky CMB data with a model-independent approach. We investigated…
The breakdown of statistical homogeneity and isotropy of cosmic perturbations is a generic feature of ultra large scale structure of the cosmos, in particular, of non trivial cosmic topology. The statistical isotropy (SI) of the Cosmic…
Most treatments of large scale anomalies in the microwave sky are a posteriori, with unquantified look-elsewhere effects. We contrast these with physical models of specific inhomogeneities in the early universe which then generate apparent…
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy may result from both scalar and tensor perturbations. For a sufficiently narrow range of angular scales, CMB perturbations can be characterized by four parameters. Results from the Cosmic…
The ratio of the self-gravitational energy density of the scattering particles in the universe to the energy density of the scattered photons in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the same in any volume of space. These two energy…
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,…