A test of the Poincare dodecahedral space topology hypothesis with the WMAP CMB data

TL;DR

This study tests the Poincaré dodecahedral space hypothesis for the universe's topology using WMAP data, finding no statistically significant evidence supporting the model over a simply connected universe.

Contribution

It provides a rigorous statistical analysis of the matched circles method with updated WMAP data, challenging previous claims of evidence for the Poincaré dodecahedral space topology.

Findings

No significant correlation found in WMAP data supporting PDS topology

Results are consistent with a simply connected universe at 68% confidence

Updated analysis refutes earlier hints of PDS topology evidence

Abstract

It has been suggested by Roukema and coworkers (hereafter R04) that the topology of the Universe as probed by the ``matched circles'' method using the first year release of the WMAP CMB data, might be that of the Poincar\'e dodecahedral space (PDS) model. An excess in the correlation of the ``identified circles'' was reported by R04, for circles of angular radius of ~11 deg for a relative phase twist -36deg, hinting that this could be due to a Clifford translation, if the hypothesized model were true. R04 did not however specify the statistical significance of the correlation signal. We investigate the statistical significance of the signal using Monte Carlo CMB simulations in a simply connected Universe, and present an updated analysis using the three-year WMAP data. We find that our analyses of the first and three year WMAP data provide results that are consistent with the simply connected space at a confidence level as low as 68%.