Related papers: Why is the CMB fluctuation level 10^{-5}?
It is assumed that the dark energy observed today is frozen as a result of a phase transition involving the source of that energy. Postulating that the dark energy de-coherence which results from this phase transition drives statistical…
We discuss probability distributions for the cosmological constant Lambda and the amplitude of primordial density fluctuations Q in models where they both are anthropic variables. With mild assumptions about the prior probabilities, the…
We revisit how super-Hubble cosmological fluctuations induce, at any time in the cosmic history, a non-vanishing spatial curvature of the local background metric. The random nature of these fluctuations promotes the curvature density…
The amplitude of cosmological density fluctuations, sigma_8, has been studied and estimated by analysing many cosmological observations. The values of the estimates vary considerably between the various probes. However, different estimators…
We discuss from the condensed-matter point of view the recent idea that the Poisson fluctuations of cosmological constant about zero could be a source of the observed dark energy. We argue that the thermodynamic fluctuations of Lambda are…
Motivated by the possibility that different versions of the laws of physics could be realized within other universes, this paper delineates the galactic parameters that allow for habitable planets and revisits constraints on the amplitude…
We place limits on semiclassical fluctuations that might be present in the primordial perturbation spectrum. These can arise if some signatures of pre-inflationary features survive the expansion, or could be created by whatever mechanism…
We examine bounds on adiabatic and isocurvature density fluctuations from $\mu$-type spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Studies of such distortion are complementary to CMB measurements of the spectral index and…
The power spectrum of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) depends on most of the key cosmological parameters. Accurate future measurements of this power spectrum might therefore allow us to determine h, Omega, Omega_b,…
We present cosmological constraints on deviations of Newton's constant at large scales, analyzing latest cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies and primordial abundances of light elements synthesized by big bang nucleosynthesis…
A cosmological model, in which the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a thermal radiation of intergalactic dust instead of a relic radiation of the Big Bang, is revived and revisited. The model suggests that a virtually transparent local…
Inflation creates large-scale cosmological density perturbations that are characterized by an isotropic, homogeneous, and Gaussian random distribution about a locally flat background. Even in a flat universe, the spatial curvature measured…
The recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies at arcminute angular scales performed by the ACT and SPT experiments are probing the damping regime of CMB fluctuations. The analysis of these datasets unexpectedly…
We point out that the temperature fluctuations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) can be generated in a way that is different from the one usually assumed in slow-roll inflation. Our mechanism is based on vacuum fluctuations of fields…
An interesting test on the nature of the Universe is to measure the global spatial curvature of the metric in a model independent way, at a level of $|\Omega_k|<10^{-4}$, or, if possible, at the cosmic variance level of the amplitude of the…
We derive strong observational limits on any possible large-scale spatial variation in the values of physical 'constants' whose space-time evolution is driven by a scalar field. The limits are imposed by the isotropy of the microwave…
It has been claimed that the observed magnitude of the vacuum energy density is consistent with the distribution predicted in anthropic models, in which an ensemble of universes is assumed. This calculation is revisited, without making the…
Observational constraints guide one forcefully to examine models in which the matter density is substantially less than critical density. Particularly noteworthy are those which are consistent with inflation. For these models, microwave…
Following the recent measurement of the acoustic peak by the BOOMERanG and MAXIMA experiments in the CMB anisotropy angular power spectrum, many analyses have found that the geometry of the Universe is very close to flat, but slightly…
The fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are investigated for a small open universe, i.e., one which is periodically composed of a small fundamental cell. The evolution of initial metric perturbations is computed using the…