Dipole-independent measurements of nearly-zero CMB correlation: a possible symmetry of primordial causal quantum coherence

Abstract

Anisotropy of space-time is measured on the scale of the cosmic horizon, using the angular correlation function $C(\Theta )$ of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature at large angular separation $\Theta$. Even-parity correlation $C_{\mathrm{even}}(\Theta )$ is introduced to obtain a direct, precise measure of horizon-scale curvature anisotropy independent of the unknown dipole, with uncertainty dominated by models of Galactic emission. In maps from WMAP and Planck, $C_{\mathrm{even}}(\Theta )$ at $\Theta \simeq 90^{\circ }\pm 15^{\circ }$ is found to be much closer to zero than in previously documented measurements. Variation from zero as small as that in the {\sl Planck} maps is estimated to occur by chance in a fraction $\simeq 10^{-4.3}$ to $\simeq 10^{-2.8}$ of standard realizations. Measurements are found to be consistent with zero correlation in a range of angles expected from quantum fluctuations during inflation whose spacelike coherence is bounded by inflationary horizons around every location at every epoch. This scale-invariant symmetry of cosmological initial conditions is incompatible with the standard quantum theory of initial conditions, but is broadly consistent with other cosmological measurements, and is subject to further tests.

arXiv commentFinal version, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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• Nearly Full-Sky Low-Multipole Cosmic Microwave Background Temperature Anisotropy: III. CMB Temperature Anomalies