Symmetries of CMB Temperature Correlation at Large Angular Separations

Abstract

A new analysis is presented of the angular correlation function $C(\Theta )$ of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature at large angular separation, based on published maps derived from {\sl WMAP} and {\sl Planck} satellite data, using different models of astrophysical foregrounds. It is found that using a common analysis, the results from the two satellites are very similar. In particular, it is found that previously published differences between measured values of $C(\Theta )$ near $\Theta =90^{\circ }$ arise mainly from different choices of masks in regions of largest Galactic emissions, and that demonstrated measurement biases are reduced by eliminating masks altogether. Maps from both satellites are shown to agree with $C(90^{\circ })=0$ to within estimated statistical and systematic errors, consistent with an exact symmetry predicted in a new holographic quantum model of inflation.

resubmitted to ApJ Letters, with revisions in response to referee comments