Generating Non-Gaussian Adiabatic Fluctuations from Inflation

Abstract

As the quality of cosmological data continue to improve, it is natural to test the statistics of primordial fluctuations: are they Gaussian or non-Gaussian? I review a model which generates non-Gaussian adiabatic fluctuations from inflation. Current investigations suggest that there may possibly be a non-Gaussian signal in large angle cosmic microwave background anisotropy data. Statistics of microwave anisotropies could thus serve as a powerful probe of the very early Universe.

5 pages Latex file, 2 American Institute of Physics style files, 2 postscript figures, to be published in Proceedings of COSMO-98: International Workshop on Particle Physics and the Early Universe Monterey, California, Nov. 15-20, 1998, Ed. D. Caldwell (Published by American Institute for Physics

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