Statistical anisotropy of CMB as a probe of conformal rolling scenario

Search for the statistical anisotropy in the CMB data is a powerful tool for constraining models of the early Universe. In this paper we focus on the recently proposed cosmological scenario with conformal rolling. We consider two sub-scenarios, one of which involves a long intermediate stage between conformal rolling and conventional hot epoch. Primordial scalar perturbations generated within these sub-scenarios have different direction-dependent power spectra, both characterized by a single parameter h^2. We search for the signatures of this anisotropy in the seven-year WMAP data using quadratic maximum likelihood method, first applied for similar purposes by Hanson and Lewis. We confirm the large quadrupole anisotropy detected in V and W bands, which has been argued to originate from systematic effects rather than from cosmology. We construct an estimator for the parameter h^2. In the case of the sub-scenario with the intermediate stage we set an upper limit h^2 < 0.045 at the 95% confidence level. The constraint on h^2 is much weaker in the case of another sub-scenario, where the intermediate stage is absent.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures. Stronger constraint in case of sub-scenario A obtained. Version accepted for publication in JCA

Revisiting constraints on (pseudo)conformal Universe with Planck data

We revisit constraints on the (pseudo)conformal Universe from the non-observation of statistical anisotropy in the Planck data. The quadratic maximal likelihood estimator is applied to the Planck temperature maps at frequencies 143 GHz and 217 GHz as well as their cross-correlation. The strongest constraint is obtained in the scenario of the (pseudo)conformal Universe with a long intermediate evolution after conformal symmetry breaking. In terms of the relevant parameter (coupling constant), the limit is h^2 <0.0013 at 95% C.L. (using the cross-estimator). The analogous limit is much weaker in the scenario without the intermediate stage (h^2 \ln \frac{H_0}{\Lambda}<0.52) allowing the coupling constant to be of order one. In the latter case, the non-Gaussianity in the 4-point function appears to be a more promising signature.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures. Appendix with detailed computation of the Fisher matrix adde

Effect of intermediate Minkowskian evolution on CMB bispectrum

We consider a non-inflationary early Universe scenario in which relevant scalar perturbations get frozen out at some point, but then are defrosted and follow a long nearly Minkowskian evolution before the hot era. This intermediate stage leaves specific imprint on the CMB 3-point function, largely independent of details of microscopic physics. In particular, the CMB bispectrum undergoes oscillations in the multipole l space with roughly constant amplitude. The latter is in contrast to the oscillatory bispectrum enhanced in the flattened triangle limit, as predicted by inflation with non-Bunch--Davies vacuum. Given this and other peculiar features of the bispectrum, stringent constraints imposed by the Planck data may not apply. The CMB 3-point function is suppressed by the inverse duration squared of the Minkowskian evolution, but can be of observable size for relatively short intermediate Minkowskian stage.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures; references added, representation of the material improved; matches journal versio

Living with ghosts in Horava-Lifshitz gravity

We consider the branch of the projectable Horava-Lifshitz model which exhibits ghost instabilities in the low energy limit. It turns out that, due to the Lorentz violating structure of the model and to the presence of a finite strong coupling scale, the vacuum decay rate into photons is tiny in a wide range of phenomenologically acceptable parameters. The strong coupling scale, understood as a cutoff on ghosts' spatial momenta, can be raised up to $\Lambda \sim 10$ TeV. At lower momenta, the projectable Horava-Lifshitz gravity is equivalent to General Relativity supplemented by a fluid with a small positive sound speed squared ($10^{-42}\lesssim$) $c^2_s \lesssim 10^{-20}$, that could be a promising candidate for the Dark Matter. Despite these advantages, the unavoidable presence of the strong coupling obscures the implementation of the original Horava's proposal on quantum gravity. Apart from the Horava-Lifshitz model, conclusions of the present work hold also for the mimetic matter scenario, where the analogue of the projectability condition is achieved by a non-invertible conformal transformation of the metric.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figure. The proof of an equivalence between the IR limit of the projectable Horava-Lifshitz gravity and the mimetic matter scenario is given in Appendix A. Version accepted for publication in JHE