Causality, Randomness, and the Microwave Background
- 26 February 1996
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 76 (9) , 1413-1416
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.76.1413
Abstract
Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature are being studied with ever increasing precision. Two competing types of theories might describe the origins of these fluctuations: “inflation” and “defects.” Here we show how the differences between these two scenarios can give rise to striking signatures in the microwave fluctuations on small scales, assuming a standard recombination history. These should enable high resolution measurements of CMB anisotropies to distinguish between these two broad classes of theories, independent of the precise details of each.Keywords
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