Open AccessGenus topology of the cosmic microwave background from the WMAP 3‐year data
Author(s) -
Gott J. Richard,
Colley Wesley N.,
Park ChanGyung,
Park Changbom,
Mugnolo Charles
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11730.x
Subject(s) - cmb cold spot , physics , cosmic microwave background , cosmic background radiation , topology (electrical circuits) , gaussian , genus , cosmology , astrophysics , anisotropy , quantum mechanics , biology , ecology , mathematics , combinatorics
We have independently measured the genus topology of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background seen in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) 3‐yr data. A genus analysis of the WMAP data indicates consistency with Gaussian random‐phase initial conditions, as predicted by standard inflation. We set 95 per cent confidence limits on non‐linearities of −101 < f nl < 107 . We also find that the observed low‐ℓ (ℓ≤ 8) modes show a slight anticorrelation with the Galactic foreground, but not exceeding 95 per cent confidence, and that the topology defined by these modes is consistent with that of a Gaussian random‐phase distribution (within 95 per cent confidence).