MICROWAVE ANISOTROPIES FROM COSMIC DEFECTS
NATURE 368:6466 (1994) 27-31
$Π$ in the Sky ? Microwave Anisotropies from Cosmic Defects
ArXiv hep-ph/9310322 (1993)
Abstract:
High resolution maps of the anisotropy of the microwave sky will yield invaluable clues as to the mechanisms involved in cosmic structure formation. One fundamental question they should answer is whether the fluctuations were Gaussian random noise, as predicted in inflationary models, or were nonGaussian as in theories based on symmetry breaking and cosmic defects. In the latter case there is the prospect of obtaining information regarding symmetry breaking at high energy scales, specifically the homotopy classes $\Pi_n$ of the vacuum manifold. In this paper we report on detailed calculations of the degree scale anisotropies predicted in the cosmic string, monopole texture and nontopological texture theories of structure formation, emphasising their distinct character from those predicted by inflation, and the bright prospects for experimental tests.Inflation and squeezed quantum states
ArXiv astro-ph/9303001 (1993)