A Model For The WMAP Anomalous Ecliptic Plane Signal

TL;DR

This paper proposes a simple model attributing the WMAP ecliptic plane anomalies to foreground HII clouds affecting background thermal radiation, potentially linked to past activity of Sgr A*.

Contribution

It introduces a novel explanation for WMAP anomalies involving foreground HII clouds and background radiation from Sgr A* remnants.

Findings

Foreground HII clouds can cause spectral deviations in WMAP data.

The background radiation may originate from cooling radio lobes of Sgr A*.

The model explains the observed anomalies without requiring new physics.

Abstract

A simple model is presented to explain the high Galactic latitude anomalies in the WMAP data recently reported by Diego et al (2009). It is suggested that the anomalous deviation from a thermal spectrum could be caused by the propagation of background thermal radiation through a foreground optically thin HII cloud. The background radiation may be the remnant of cooling radio lobes associated with once-active jets from Sgr A*.