"Three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP) observations: Implications for
cosmology,"
by
D.N.
Spergel and 21 others, Astrophysical Journal
Supplement Series, 170(2): 377-408, June 2007.
Abstract: "A simple cosmological model with only six
parameters (matter density, Omega(m)h(2), baryon density, Omega(b)h(2),
Hubble constant, H-0, amplitude of fluctuations, sigma(8), optical
depth, tau, and a slope for the scalar perturbation spectrum, n(s))
fits not only the 3 year WMAP temperature and polarization
data, but also small-scale CMB
data, light element abundances, large-scale structure observations, and
the supernova luminosity/distance relationship. Using WMAP
data only, the best-fit values for cosmological parameters for the
power-law flat Lambda cold dark matter (Lambda CDM) model are
(Omega(m)h(2), Omega(b)h(2), h, n(s), tau, sigma(s)) =
(0.1277(-0.0079)(+0.0080), 0.02229 +/- 0.00073, 0.732(-0.032)(+0.031),
0.958 +/- 0.016,0.089 +/- 0.030, 0.761(-0.048)(+0.049)). The 3 year
data dramatically shrink the allowed volume in this six-dimensional
parameter space. Assuming that the primordial fluctuations
are adiabatic with a power-law spectrum, the WMAP data alone
require dark matter and favor a spectral index that is significantly
less than the Harrison-Zel'dovich-Peebles scale-invariant spectrum (
n(s) = 1, r = 0). Adding additional data
sets improves the constraints on these components and the spectral
slope. For power-law models, WMAP data alone puts an improved
upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r(0.002) < 0.65 ( 95% CL)
and the combination of WMAP and the lensing-normalized SDSS
galaxy survey implies r(0.002) < 0.30 ( 95% CL). Models that
suppress large-scale power through a running spectral index or a
large-scale cutoff in the power spectrum are a better fit to the
WMAP and small-scale CMB data than the power-law Lambda CDM
model; however, the improvement in the fit to the WMAP data is
only Delta(2)(chi) = 3 for 1 extra degree of freedom. Models with a
running-spectral index are consistent with a higher amplitude of
gravity waves. In a flat universe, the combination of WMAP and
the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) data yields a significant constraint
on the equation of state of the dark energy, w =
-0.967(-0.072)(+0.073). If we assume w = -1, then the deviations from
the critical density, Omega(K), are small: the combination of
WMAP and the SNLS data implies Omega(k) = -0.011 +/- 0.012.
The combination of WMAP 3 year data plus the HST Key Project
constraint on H-0 implies Omega(k) = -0.014 +/- 0.017 and Omega(Lambda)
= 0.716 +/- 0.055. Even if we do not include the prior that the
universe is flat, by combining WMAP, large-scale structure,
and supernova data, we can still put a strong constraint on the dark
energy equation of state, w = -1.08 +/- 0.12. For a flat universe, the
combination of WMAP and other astronomical data yield a
constraint on the sum of the neutrino masses, Sigma m(nu) < 0.66 eV
(95%CL). Consistent with the predictions of simple inflationary
theories, we detect no significant deviations from Gaussianity in the
CMB maps using Minkowski functionals, the bispectrum, trispectrum, and
a new statistic designed to detect large-scale anisotropies in the
fluctuations."
This 2007 report from Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
was cited 116 times in current journal
articles indexed by Thomson Scientific during November-December 2007.
Repeating its impressive performance from the previous count for
September-October, this report emerges again as the most-cited physics
paper published in the last two years, aside from reviews. Prior to the
most recent bimonthly count, citations to the paper have accrued as
follows:
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