THE AMPLITUDE AND SPECTRAL INDEX OF THE LARGE ANGULAR SCALE ANISOTROPY IN THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND-RADIATION

In many cosmological models, the large angular scale anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background is parameterized by a spectral index, n, and a quadrupolar amplitude, rho. For a Harrison-Peebles-Zel'dovich spectrum, n = 1. Using data from the Far Infrared Survey (FIRS) and a new statistical measure, a contour plot of the likelihood for cosmological models for which -1 < n < 3 and 0 less-than-or-equal-to rho less-than-or-equal-to 50 muK is obtained. Depending upon the details of the analysis, the maximum likelihood occurs at n between 0.8 and 1.4 and rho between 18 and 21 muK. Regardless of rho, the likelihood is always less than half its maximum for n < -0.4 and for n > 2.2, as it is for rho < 8 muK and rho > 44 muK.