Spectra and Statistics of Cosmic String Perturbations on the Microwave Background: A Monte Carlo Approach

Abstract

Using Monte Carlo simulations of perturbations induced by cosmic strings on the microwave background, we demonstrate the scale invariance of string fluctuation patterns. By comparing string-induced fluctuation patterns with gaussian random phase ones, we show that the non-gaussian signatures of the string patterns are detectable by tests based on the moments of the distributions only for angular scales smaller than a few arcminutes and for maps based on the gradient of temperature fluctuations. However, we find that tests of the gaussianity of the moments fail when we include a reasonable amount of instrumental noise in a pattern. Signal to noise ratios of $3.3$ or greater completely suppress a string pattern's non-gaussian features even at the highest resolutions.

17 pages, LaTeX Version 2.09 (24 May 1989). Postscript figure files may be requested from [email protected] if they have not yet appeared on this listing.

References in corpus (6)

• Cosmic Temperature Fluctuations from Two Years of COBE DMR Observations
• Topological Defects and Structure Formation
• Angular Power Spectrum of the Microwave Background Anisotropy seen by the COBE Differential Microwave Radiometer
• A Cosmic String Specific Signature on the Cosmic Microwave Background
• On the Statistics of CMB Fluctuations Induced by Topological Defects
• Peculiar Velocities and Microwave Background Anisotropopies from Cosmic Strings

Cited by in corpus (4)

• The Cosmic Microwave Background and Particle Physics
• Seeking String Theory in the Cosmos
• Cosmic strings and their induced non-Gaussianities in the cosmic microwave background
• The Rise and Fall of the Cosmic String Theory for Cosmological Perturbations