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We present a topological analysis of the temperature fluctuation maps fromthe \emph{Planck 2020} Data release 4 (DR4) based on the \texttt{NPIPE} dataprocessing pipeline. For comparison, we also present the topologicalcharacteristics of the maps from \emph{Planck 2018} Data release 3 (DR3). Weperform our analysis in terms of the homology characteristics of the maps,invoking relative homology to account for analysis in the presence of masks. Weperform our analysis for a range of smoothing scales spanning sub- andsuper-horizon scales corresponding to $FWHM = 5', 10', 20', 40', 80', 160',320', 640'$. Our main result indicates a significantly anomalous behavior ofthe loops in the observed maps compared to simulations that are modeled asisotopic and homogeneous Gaussian random fields. Specifically, we observe a$4\sigma$ deviation between the observation and simulations in the number ofloops at $FWHM = 320'$ and $FWHM = 640'$, corresponding to super-horizon scalesof $5$ degrees and larger. In addition, we also notice a mildly significantdeviation at $2\sigma$ for all the topological descriptors for almost all thescales analyzed. Our results show a consistency across different data releases,and therefore, the anomalous behavior deserves a careful considerationregarding its origin and ramifications. Disregarding the unlikely source of theanomaly being instrumental systematics, the origin of the anomaly may begenuinely astrophysical -- perhaps due to a yet unresolved foreground, or trulyprimordial in nature. Given the nature of the topological descriptors, thatpotentially encodes information of all orders, non-Gaussianities, of eitherprimordial or late-type nature, may be potential candidates. Alternatepossibilities include the Universe admitting a non-trivial global topology,including effects induced by large-scale topological defects.

Loops abound in the cosmic microwave background: A $4\sigma$ anomaly on super-horizon scales