We propose a set of statistics Sq for detecting non-gaussianity in CMBR anisotropy data sets. These statistics are both simple and, according to calculations over a space of linear combinations of three-point functions, nearly optimal at detecting certain types of non-gaussian features. We apply S3 to the UCSB SP91 experiment and find that the mean of the four frequency channels is by this crit...

We present the theory and application of a novel calibration system for millimeter and microwave polarimeters. The technique is a simple extension of the conventional wire-grid approach, but employs a thin dielectric sheet rather than a grid. The primary advantage of this approach is to obtain a calibration signal that is only slightly polarized, which can be beneficial for certain applications...

Nature abhors an infinity. The limits of general relativity are often signaled by infinities: infinite curvature as in the center of a black hole, the infinite energy of the singular big bang. We might be inclined to add an infinite universe to the list of intolerable infinities. Theories that move beyond general relativity naturally treat space as finite. In this review we discuss the mathemat...

Anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation due to gravity waves are investigated. An initial spectrum of gravity waves may have been induced during an epoch of inflation. We study the propagation of such a spectrum in different Friedmann backgrounds with hot and cold dark matter, radiation and, possibly, a cosmological constant. We calculate its imprint as anisotropies on the cos...

We discuss the contribution of the blazar population to the extragalactic background radiation across the electromagnetic (e.m.) spectrum with particular reference to the microwave, hard-X-ray and γ-ray bands. Our estimates are based on a recently derived blazar radio LogN-LogS that was built by combining several radio and multi-frequency surveys. We show that blazar emission integrated over co...

We have recently proposed a new candidate for baryonic dark matter: very cold molecular gas, in near-isothermal equilibrium with the cosmic background radiation at 2.73 K. The cold gas, of quasi-primordial abundances, is condensed in a fractal structure, resembling the hierarchical structure of the detected interstellar medium. We present some perspectives of detecting this very cold gas, eithe...

We discuss an alternative approach to quintessence modifying the usual equation of state of the cosmological fluid in order to see if going further than the approximation of perfect fluid allows to better reproduce the available data. We consider a cosmological model comprising only two fluids, namely baryons (modelled as dust) and dark matter with a Van der Waals equation of state. First, the ...

We investigate whether a recently proposed modulation of the power spectrum of primordial density fluctuations generated through transplankian (maybe stringy) effects during inflation can be observed. We briefly review the mechanism leading to the modulation and apply it to a generic slow-roll scenario of inflation. We then investigate how these primordial modulation effects leave an imprint in...

Received (received date) Revised (revised date) We study quintessence models with a constant (effective) equation of state. It is investigated whether such quintessence models are consistent with a negative spatial curvature of the Universe with respect to the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation measured by the WMAP mission. If the reionization is negligibly small, it is fou...

Cosmology can provide information on the absolute scale of neutrino masses, complementary to the results of tritium beta decay and neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. We show how the analysis of data from the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background radiation and from the distribution of cosmological large-scale structure, combined with other experimental results, provides an upp...