Cosmic background radiation anisotropy at degree angular scales - Further results from the South Pole

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Abstract

We report further results from the University of California at Santa Barbara program to measure anisotropy in the cosmic background radiation at angular scales near 1^deg^, an angular range corresponding to the largest scales where structure is observed. A 30 GHz high electron mobility transistor amplifier based detector was coupled to the Advanced Cosmic Microwave Explorer, a 1 m off axis Gregorian telescope. We present data that represent 64 of the total of 500 hr acquired with this system during the 1990-1991 season. The data have a statistical error of 13.5 microK pixel^-1^. These are the smallest error bars of any data set of this type published to date. The data contain a significant signal with a maximum likelihood {DELTA}T/T ~ 1 x 10^-5^, under the assumption of a Gaussian sky autocorrelation function at a coherence angle of 1.5^deg^. The spectrum of the signal seen in slightly less than 2 σ away from the thermal spectrum expected of primordial fluctuations in the cosmic background radiation. If the source of the fluctuations is primordial, then the data are consistent with cold dark matter scenarios when normalized to the large-scale anisotropy observed by COBE, while if the origin of the signal is foreground emission or another form of contaminant then the data are marginally inconsistent with standard cold dark matter models. In either case, the data are sufficiently sensitive to provide a crucial test of many models.

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