CMB anisotropies and the ISW effect

[Chronos]

Two papers on arxiv today, http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.0025 and http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.0275, propose to resolve a large part of the CMB anisotropies suggested by WMAP and Planck based on the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. The authorship appears independent, the former group is from India, and the latter from Spain, USA and Italy.

 

[Drakkith]

Do you know what was thought to be the cause of the anisotropies prior to these papers?

 

[Chronos]

Possible explanations for the dipole modulation addressed by 1312.0275 have included gigantic voids, a topological defect remaining from a phase transition in the early universe, and quantum entanglement with a parallel universe before separation occurred during inflation. They invoked some rather ... exotic ... physics.