Cosmological Perturbations of Quantum-Mechanical Origin and Anisotropy of the Microwave Background

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the quantum-mechanical origin of cosmological perturbations, focusing on their statistical properties and specific angular patterns in the CMBR, which could be observed by COBE-type experiments.

Contribution

It derives an exact formula for the angular correlation function of CMB temperature fluctuations caused by squeezed gravitational waves.

Findings

Predicted specific angular patterns in CMB fluctuations.

Squeezed quantum states influence the power spectra of perturbations.

Potential observability of these patterns by COBE-type observations.

Abstract

Cosmological perturbations generated quantum-mechanically (as a particular case, during inflation) possess statistical properties of squeezed quantum states. The power spectra of the perturbations are modulated and the angular distribution of the produced temperature fluctuations of the CMBR is quite specific. An exact formula is derived for the angular correlation function of the temperature fluctuations caused by squeezed gravitational waves. The predicted angular pattern can, in principle, be revealed by the COBE-type observations.