Title:
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The shape of the primordial power spectrum: A last stand before Planck data
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Author:
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Hiranya, V.P.; Verde, Licia
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Other authors:
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Universitat de Barcelona |
Abstract:
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We present a minimally parametric reconstruction of the primordial power spectrum using the most recent cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure data sets. Our goal is to constrain the shape of the power spectrum while simultaneously avoiding strong theoretical priors and over-fitting of the data. We find no evidence for any departure from a power-law spectral index. We also find that an exact scale-invariant power spectrum is disfavored by the data, but this conclusion is weaker than the corresponding result assuming a theoretically-motivated power-law spectral index prior. The reconstruction shows that better data are crucial to justify the adoption of such a strong theoretical prior observationally. These results can be used to determine the robustness of our present knowledge when compared with forthcoming precision data from Planck. |
Subject(s):
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-Espectroscòpia -Constants físiques -Spectrum analysis -Physical constants |
Rights:
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(c) American Physical Society, 2010
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Document type:
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Article Article - Published version |
Published by:
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American Physical Society
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