Anomalous photon noise levels predicted for CMB measurements made by the Planck satellite mission

TL;DR

This paper predicts that if the Quasi-Static Universe model is correct, the CMB photon noise levels measured by Planck will be significantly higher than standard model predictions, challenging current cosmological assumptions.

Contribution

It introduces the QSU model where photon energy is invariant, leading to different predictions for CMB photon noise levels compared to the standard Lambda+CDM model.

Findings

QSU model predicts 40 times higher CMB photon noise than standard model.

Photon number density in QSU is about 1600 times less than in standard cosmology.

Planck data can test the validity of the QSU model.

Abstract

A fundamental assumption inherent in the standard Lambda+CDM Hot Big Bang (HBB) model is that photons lose energy as they are redshifted due to the expansion of the universe. We show that for the Quasi-Static Universe (QSU) model, in which photon energy is an invariant in the cosmological reference frame, the photon number density in the universe today is a factor of approximately 1600 less than in the standard model. We examine some of the consequences for a number of processes that occur during the thermal history of the early universe, including primordial nucleosynthesis, the formation of neutral hydrogen (recombination), and the evolution of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. We show that the QSU model predicts that the measured CMB photon noise level will be a factor of 40 higher than the level that would be observed assuming the standard HBB model. The CMB data that will be collected by the recently launched Planck satellite mission provides an ideal opportunity to test the validity of this prediction.