"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.
[Authors' affiliations: 13 U.S. and Canadian institutions]
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 201 times in current journal articles
indexed by Clarivate during March-April 2008. For the fourth
consecutive bimonthly period, this paper scores as the most-cited physics
report (excluding reviews) published in the last two years. Prior to the
most recent two-month count, citations to the paper have accrued as
follows:
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