Robust Constraint on Cosmic Textures from the Cosmic Microwave Background

Stephen M. Feeney, Matthew C. Johnson, Daniel J. Mortlock, and Hiranya V. Peiris
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 241301 – Published 12 June 2012

Abstract

Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) contain information which has been pivotal in establishing the current cosmological model. These data can also be used to test well-motivated additions to this model, such as cosmic textures. Textures are a type of topological defect that can be produced during a cosmological phase transition in the early Universe, and which leave characteristic hot and cold spots in the CMB. We apply Bayesian methods to carry out a rigorous test of the texture hypothesis, using full-sky data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. We conclude that current data do not warrant augmenting the standard cosmological model with textures. We rule out at 95% confidence models that predict more than 6 detectable cosmic textures on the full sky.

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  • Received 19 March 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.241301

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Stephen M. Feeney1, Matthew C. Johnson2, Daniel J. Mortlock3,4, and Hiranya V. Peiris1

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
  • 2Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
  • 3Astrophysics Group, Imperial College London, Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
  • 4Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

  • *stephen.feeney.09@ucl.ac.uk
  • mjohnson@perimeterinstitute.ca
  • d.mortlock@imperial.ac.uk
  • §h.peiris@ucl.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 24 — 15 June 2012

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