A Cosmic Microwave Background Feature Consistent with a Cosmic Texture
M. Cruz,1,2*
N. Turok,3
P. Vielva,1
E. Martínez-González,1
M. Hobson4
The Cosmic Microwave Background provides our most ancient image
of the universe and our best tool for studying its early evolution.
Theories of high-energy physics predict the formation of various
types of topological defects in the very early universe, including
cosmic texture, which would generate hot and cold spots in the
Cosmic Microwave Background. We show through a Bayesian statistical
analysis that the most prominent 5°-radius cold spot observed
in all-sky images, which is otherwise hard to explain, is compatible
with having being caused by a texture. From this model, we constrain
the fundamental symmetry-breaking energy scale to be
0 
8.7
x 10
15 gigaelectron volts. If confirmed, this detection of a
cosmic defect will probe physics at energies exceeding any conceivable
terrestrial experiment.
2 Departamento de Física Moderna, Universidad de Cantabria, Avenida los Castros, 39005-Santander, Spain.
3 Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Center for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK.
4 Astrophysics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 OHE, UK.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cruz{at}ifca.unican.es
