Three point correlations in the COBE DMR two year anisotropy maps

We compute the three-point temperature correlation function of the COBE Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) two-year sky maps to search for evidence of non-Gaussian temperature fluctuations. We detect three-point correlations in our sky with a substantially higher signal-to-noise ratio than from the first year data. However, the magnitude of the signal is consistent with the level of cosmic variance expected from Gaussian fluctuations, even when the low order multipole moments, up to l = 9, are filtered from the data. These results do not strongly constrain most existing models of structure formation, but the absence of intrinsic three-point correlations on large angular scales is an important consistency test for such models.

Note:

13 pages of uuencoded Postscript, including two tables and two figures

References(29)

Figures(0)

- Astrophys.J. 436 L99

Spontaneous Creation of Almost Scale - Free Density Perturbations in an Inflationary Universe

- Phys.Rev.D 28 (1983) 679,
- In *Abbott, L.F. (ed.), Pi, S.Y. (ed.): Inflationary cosmology*, 242-256. (Phys. Rev. D28 (1983) 679-693) and Pennsylvania Univ. Philadelphia - UPR-0202T (rec.May 83) 55 p. (307007) (see Book Index)
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevD.28.679

- Astrophys.J. 396 L7

Cosmic temperature fluctuations from two years of COBE differential microwave radiometers observations

et al.

- Astrophys.J. 436 (1994) 423-442
•
e-Print:
- astro-ph/9401012
•
DOI:
- 10.1086/174918

COBE's constraints on the global monopole and texture theories of cosmic structure formation

David P. Bennett
(
- LLNL, Livermore
)
,
Sun Hong Rhie
(
- UC, Berkeley, CfPA
)

- Astrophys.J.Lett. 406 (1993) L7-L10
•
e-Print:
- hep-ph/9207244
•
DOI:
- 10.1086/186773

The statistics of cosmic background radiation fluctuations

J.R. Bond
(
- Toronto U. and
- Cambridge U. and
- Princeton, Inst. Advanced Study
)
,
G. Efstathiou
(
- Toronto U. and
- Cambridge U. and
- Princeton, Inst. Advanced Study
)

- Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 226 (1987) 655-687

Pi in the sky? Microwave anisotropies from cosmic defects

David Coulson
(
- Princeton U. and
- Imperial Coll., London
)
,
Pedro Ferreira
(
- Imperial Coll., London
)
,
Paul Graham
(
- Princeton U.
)
,
Neil Turok
(
- Princeton U.
)

- Nature 368 (1994) 27
•
e-Print:
- hep-ph/9310322
•
DOI:
- 10.1038/368027a0

The Angular dependence of the three point correlation function of the cosmic microwave background radiation as predicted by inflationary cosmologies

Toby Falk
(
- UC, Santa Barbara
)
,
Raghavan Rangarajan
(
- UC, Santa Barbara
)
,
Mark Srednicki
(
- UC, Santa Barbara
)

- Astrophys.J.Lett. 403 (1993) L1
•
e-Print:
- astro-ph/9208001
•
DOI:
- 10.1086/186707

NonGaussian effects in the cosmic microwave background from inflation

Alejandro Gangui
(
- SISSA, Trieste
)

- Phys.Rev.D 50 (1994) 3684-3691
•
e-Print:
- astro-ph/9406014
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevD.50.3684

The Three point correlation function of the cosmic microwave background in inflationary models

- Astrophys.J. 430 (1994) 447-457,
- Astrophys. J. 430 (1994) 447-457, and Trieste Int. Sch. Adv. Stud. - 93-193 (93/12,rec.Jan.94) 22 p. (401127) Padua Univ. - DFPD-A-93-80 (93/12,rec.Jan.94) 22 p
•
e-Print:
- astro-ph/9312033
•
DOI:
- 10.1086/174421

On determining the spectrum of primordial inhomogeneity from the COBE dmr sky maps. 2. Results of two year data analysis

K.M. Gorski
(
- NASA, Goddard
)
,
G. Hinshaw
(
- Hughes STX, Greenbelt
)
,
a.J. Banday
(
- NASA, Goddard
)
,
C.L. Bennett
(
- NASA, Goddard
)
,
E.L. Wright
(
- UCLA
)

et al.

- Astrophys.J.Lett. 430 (1994) L89-L92
•
e-Print:
- astro-ph/9403067
•
DOI:
- 10.1086/187445

The distribution of warm ionized gas in NGC 891

- Astrophys.J.Lett. 352 (1990) L1-L4,
- Astrophys.J.Lett. 362 (1990) L35 (erratum)
•
DOI:
- 10.1086/185679

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 49 110

The Development of Irregularities in a Single Bubble Inflationary Universe

S.W. Hawking
(
- Cambridge U.
)

- Phys.Lett.B 115 (1982) 295,
- In *Abbott, L.F. (ed.), Pi, S.Y. (ed.): Inflationary cosmology*, 235-237. (Phys. Lett. B115 (1982) 295-297). (see Book Index)
•
DOI:
- 10.1016/0370-2693(82)90373-2