Cosmic Microwave Background detected by Planck spacecraft, helped scientists to generate the most detailed map of the early universe ever created. In this map, scientists on the Planck team found certain large-scale features on the CMB, which they called ‘’ anomalies ‘‘ . These are the fluctuations that seeded the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters that we see today. One of them, for example, is a large cold spot, which corresponds to an anomalously large area of high density. The theory of inflation (big bang) predicts that today’s universe should appear uniform at the largest scales in all directions. That uniformity should also characterize the distribution of fluctuations at the largest scales within the CMB. But these anomalies in the CMB that previous experiments had hinted and which Planck confirmed has also shown that the universe may not be uniform at the largest scales. This is very strange and raises questions about how that fits in with inflation. What this means: the theory for how the universe began may need to be modified, amended or even fundamentally changed. Perhaps, existing theory of inflation is not correct, despite its beauty and simplicity. Scientists have to either fix the theory, amend it in some way, or throw it out and look for another explanation for why we see the universe as it is today. In any of these cases, the result will be consequential to how we understand the evolution of existence.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 20:07:04 +0000
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