2010/12/08 by Amir Hajian · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #astro-ph.CO #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/740/2/52
published as The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 740, Issue 2, article id. 52 (2011)
arxiv created 2010/12/08 · openalex publication_date 2011/09/27 · arxiv updated 2015/03/17 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
In a recent analysis of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) seven-year temperature maps, Gurzadyan and Penrose claim to find concentric circular patterns in the sky with anomalously low variances. These circles are presented as observational evidence for violent processes in a universe preceding our big bang as predicted by Penrose's Conformal Cyclic Cosmology. We reassess the statistical significance of the detection of the claimed concentric low-variance circles by comparing the WMAP data with Monte Carlo simulations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) sky plus realistic modeling of WMAP 's anisotropic noise. We find no anomaly in the variances compared with the ΛCDM cosmological model. The observed variances in the data are consistent with a Gaussian CMB sky as predicted by the inflationary cosmology model at better than 3σ.