arXiv subjects

D. Scott

Publications and source records attributed to D. Scott.

237 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

arXiv1996

The Cosmic Background Radiation

We review the current status of experimental data for spectral distortions and angular anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background, as well as discussing the relevant physical processes. This is one of a number of new articles in astrophysics and cosmology which will appear in the 1996 Review of Particle Properties (Phys. Rev. D. in press). Other relevant reviews include: "Big-Bang Cosmology" by K.A. Olive; "Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis" by K.A. Olive & D.N. Schramm; "The Hubble Constant" by C.J. Hogan; "Dark Matter" by M. Srednicki; "Cosmic Rays" by T.K. Gaisser & T. Stanev; "Solar Neutrinos" by K. Nakamura. Additional information is also available, such as astrophysical and cosmological constraints on particles such as axions and neutrinos, as well as tables of physical constants and astrophysical constants. These articles are part of a new initiative to widen the scope of the RPP by providing a regular review of some important topics and parameters in astrophysics.

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arXiv1994

The COBE Normalization for Standard CDM

The COBE detection of CMB anisotropies provides the best way of fixing the amplitude of fluctuations on the largest scales. This normalization is usually given for an n=1 spectrum, including only the anisotropy caused by the Sachs- Wolfe effect. This is certainly not a good approximation for a model containing any reasonable amount of baryonic matter. In fact, even tilted S-W spectra are not a good fit to models like CDM. Here we normalize standard CDM (sCDM) to the 2-year COBE data, and quote the best amplitude in terms of the conventionally used measures of power. We also give normalizations for some specific variants of this standard model, and we indicate how the normalization depends on the assumed values of n, Omega_B and H_0. For sCDM we find =19.9\pm1.5uK, corresponding to sigma_8=1.34\pm0.10, with the normalization at large scales being B=(8.16\pm1.04)\times10^5 (Mpc/h)^4, and other numbers given in the Table. The measured rms temperature fluctuation smoothed on 10deg is a little low relative to this normalization. This is mainly due to the low quadrupole in the data: when the quadrupole is removed, the measured value of sigma(10) is quite consistent with the best-fitting . The use of should be preferred over sigma(10), when its value can be determined for a particular theory, since it makes full use of the data.

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arXiv1993

Are SP91 and COBE Inconsistent with Cold Dark Matter?

We present results on the consistency of standard cold dark matter (CDM) models with both the COBE normalization and the data from the 4th channel of the 9-point South Pole scan. We find that CDM models are consistent with both experiments, a conclusion which is at odds with some other analyses. This is partly due to our careful treatment of the temperature autocorrelation function, but also derives from a realization that the statistical conclusions depend strongly on assumptions about the prior distribution for the normalization $Q$.

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