| Parallel Computations Allow Cosmologists to Rule Out a Theory of Galaxy Formation (2007) | |||||||||||||
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| Cosmic defect models offer a interesting alternative to the standard "inflationary" models of cosmic stucture formation. Here, we calculate predictions from defect models of structure formation for both the matter and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) over all observable scales. Our results point to a serious problem reconciling the observed large-scale galaxy distribution with the COBE normalization, a result which is robust for a wide range of defect parameters. We conclude that standard scaling defect models are in conflict with the data, and show how attempts to resolve the problem by considering non-scaling defects would require radical departures from the standard scaling picture. These new results have been made possible by new supercomputing resouces which have allowed this difficult problem to be treated to a higher level of precision. Defect models offer an elegant explanation of the origin of cosmic structure. Most other models of cosmic structure are "passive" (typlic... | |||||||||||||
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