Detection of trans-Planckian effects in the cosmic microwave background

Nicolaas E. Groeneboom and Øystein Elgarøy
Phys. Rev. D 77, 043522 – Published 25 February 2008

Abstract

Quantum gravity effects are expected to modify the primordial density fluctuations produced during inflation and leave their imprint on the cosmic microwave background observed today. We present a new analysis discussing whether these effects are detectable, considering both currently available data and simulated results from an optimal CMB experiment. We find that the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) data show no evidence for the particular signature considered in this work but give an upper bound on the parameters of the model. However, a hypothetical experiment shows that with proper data, the trans-Planckian effects should be detectable through alternate sampling methods. This fuzzy conclusion is a result of the nature of the oscillations, since they give rise to a likelihood hypersurface riddled with local maxima. A simple Bayesian analysis shows no significant evidence for the simulated data to prefer a trans-Planckian model. Conventional Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are not suitable for exploring this complicated landscape, but alternative methods are required to solve the problem. This, however, requires extremely high-precision data.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
15 More
  • Received 13 November 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.77.043522

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Nicolaas E. Groeneboom* and Øystein Elgarøy

  • Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, Box 1029, 0315 Oslo, Norway

  • *nicolaag@astro.uio.no
  • oystein.elgaroy@astro.uio.no

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 77, Iss. 4 — 15 February 2008

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×