Asymmetries in the local curvature of the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe data

We use the local curvature to investigate the possible existence of non-Gaussianity/asymmetry in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data. Considering the full sky, we find results that are consistent with the Gaussian assumption. However, strong non-Gaussian features emerge when considering the northern and southern Galactic hemisphere separately, particularly on scales between 1degrees and 5degrees. Quite interestingly, the maximum non-Gaussianity is found for hemispheres centered near the ecliptic poles, which might suggest the presence of some systematic effect. The direction of the asymmetry seems consistent with the findings by Eriksen et al.