Features in the primordial power spectrum?

by Jan Hamann (Unknown)

Friday 11 Dec 2009, 11:30 → 12:30 Europe/Zurich

Univ. de Geneve, Auditoire 234, 24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève 4

The primordial spectrum of curvature perturbations represents a unique probe of the physics of inflation. In the present concordance model of cosmology, it is assumed to be a smooth, power-law function of the wavenumber. Notwithstanding, inflation can also lead to more complex shapes of the spectrum, including high-frequency "features". I will review the physics that might result in such features and the search for them in cosmological data, discuss whether the 5-year WMAP data show any evidence of features and give an outlook on the discovery potential of future experiments.