Testing the Gaussianity and Statistical Isotropy of the Universe

The last few years have seen a surge in excitement about measurements of statistics of the primordial fluctuations beyond the power spectrum. New ideas for precision tests of Gaussianity and statistical isotropy in the data are developing simultaneously with proposals for a wide range of new theoretical possibilities. From both the observations and theory, it has become clear that there is a huge discovery potential from upcoming measurements. In this Special Issue of Advances in Astronomy we have collected articles that summarize the theoretical predictions for departures from Gaussianity or statistical isotropy from a variety of potential sources, together with the observational approaches to test these properties using the CMB or large-scale structure. We hope this collection provides an accessible entry point to these topics as they currently stand, indicating what direction future developments may take and demonstrating why these questions are so compelling. The Special Issue is available at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aa/2010/si.gsiu.html, and individual articles are also available on the arXiv.

Note:

This is the editorial foreword which introduces the Special Issue on Statistical Isotropy and Gaussianity published in Advances in Astronomy. The issue contains fifteen review papers; all papers were peer-reviewed by a minimum of two referees. To read the Special Issue, please follow http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aa/2010/si.gsiu.html

cosmic background radiation
non-Gaussianity
anisotropy: statistical
galaxy: formation
power spectrum
fluctuation: primordial

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[1]

Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 450 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040, USA

[2]

Texas Grav.Cosmol. Center and Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA

[3]

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 1 physical processes on cosmological scales, have power to reveal detailed properties of the Physics responsible for generating the primordial fluctuations. Even qualitative observational features can identify key properties of the fields involved (for example, how many fields and which couplings were most relevant), or alternatively, shed light on the systematic errors in the data. However, because there are so many possibilities from both theory and observation, and because many calculations are very technical involving methods such as higher Order perturbation theory, the literature can be daunting. In this Special Issue of Adv.Astron. we have collected articles that summarize the theoretical predictions for departures from Gaussianity or statistical isotropy from a variety of potential sources, together with the observational approaches to test these properties using the CMB or large-scale Structure We hope this collection provides an accessible entry point to these topics as they currently stand, indicating what direction future developments may take and demonstrating why these questions are so compelling. The Special Issue is available at 10 /si.gsiu.html, and individual articles are also available on the arXiv

- http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aa/20