The axis of evil — Cosmology in crises
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In 2005, the paper titled “THE AXIS OF EVIL” by Dr. Kate Land, & Dr. Joao Magueijo provided evidence that there is an “unusual alignment of the preferred axis of the quadrupole and octupole in the Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) temperature and polarization data” by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP).
In simple words, there is an asymmetry in the universe in the relic radiation which is reflected in the temperature fluctuations that span on a greater scale than even galaxies. This is represented by a black line termed “AXIS OF EVIL”. This means that there are large-scale irregularities (anisotropies) in the CMBR. Hence, this paper implies damaging implications for the standard model of cosmology and the Copernican principle which states that Earth does not inhabit a special place in the universe.
The cosmological principle states that the universe is “HOMOGENOUS” and “ISOTROPIC”. In simple words, it means there is no “preferred location or direction” in the universe.
Why would the background radiation of the Universe be aligned with our solar system? For the quadrupole and octupole, the angle of the line between the hot part and the cold part matches the plane of our solar system. Is that a coincidence? This leads to the implication that the location of Earth has a greater significance which is a departure from the Copernican principle if that is the case. Consequently, it would mean that Earth does have a special place in the universe.
On a hopeful note, due to “COSMIC VARIANCE”, the observable universe is just one region in a larger universe. This is because we observe one spectrum of the CMBR meaning only one realization of the observable universe is observed from Earth.
Still, this is one of the most fascinating mysteries of our time with dangerous implications for the standard model of cosmology.
Link to the papers:
https://lnkd.in/dumcBD8Z — [The Axis of Evil]
https://lnkd.in/dz4NqUwp — [Large-angle anomalies in the CMB]
