Published in

Cambridge University Press, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, S306(10), p. 269-272, 2014

DOI: 10.1017/s1743921314013684

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Supervoid Origin of the Cold Spot in the Cosmic Microwave Background

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

We use a WISE-2MASS-Pan-STARRS1 galaxy catalog to search for a supervoid in the direction of the Cosmic Microwave Background Cold Spot. We obtain photometric redshifts using our multicolor data set to create a tomographic map of the galaxy distribution. The radial density profile centred on the Cold Spot shows a large low density region, extending over 10's of degrees. Motivated by previous Cosmic Microwave Background results, we test for underdensities within two angular radii, $5^∘$, and $15^∘$. Our data, combined with an earlier measurement by Granett et al 2010, are consistent with a large $R_{\rm void}=(192 ± 15)h^{-1} Mpc $ $(2σ)$ supervoid with $δ ≃ -0.13 ± 0.03$ centered at $z=0.22±0.01$. Such a supervoid, constituting a $∼3.5 σ$ fluctuation in the $Λ CDM$ model, is a plausible cause for the Cold Spot. ; Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of IAU 306 Symposium: Statistical Challenges in 21st Century Cosmology