The Angular Scale of Topologically-Induced Flat Spots in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

Abstract

The notion that the topology of the universe need not be that of the universal covering space of its geometry has recently received renewed attention. Generic signatures of cosmological topology have been sought, both in the distribution of objects in the universe, and especially in the temperature fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). One signature identified in the horn topology but hypothesized to be generic is featureless regions or flat spots in the CMBR sky. We show that typical observation points within the cusped 3-manifold m003 from the Snappea census have flat spots with an angular scale of about five degrees for $Ω_0$=0.3. We expect that this holds for other small volume cusped manifolds with this $Ω_0$ value.