Breakthrough in Cosmology?

Today the mankind explores not only the deepest inner secrets of the microcosm (through the LHC) but also the far reaching perimeter of the Universe. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) is a state of the art sophisticated tool that is looking into Universe's past by measuring the microwaves (Cosmic Microwave Background) patterns.

Observing and measuring are not enough though in science. Observational data are needed to validate theories and guide future theoretical research. The 5 year WMAP data that have just been released reveal interesting facts about Universe's composition and its evolution.

There is or not primordial non-Gaussianity (f_NL)?

This is the question that a group of physicists debated during a recent PI workshop on the Origins and Observations of Primordial Non-Gaussianity.

Eiichiro Komatsu thinks (video stream) that f_NL detection in the WMAP data will be a major breakthrough in cosmology since it will give us clues of what happened at the beginning of the Universe.

We cannot claim yet the f_NL existence. The 9 year WMAP data could confirm local f_NL detection.

His presentation in PDF format is available here.