Abstract
In this Letter we present a summary of the spatial properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation based on the full 4 yr of COBE Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) observations, with additional details in a set of companion Letters. The anisotropy is consistent with a scale-invariant power-law model and Gaussian statistics. With full use of the multifrequency 4 yr DMR data, including our estimate of the effects of Galactic emission, we find a power-law spectral index of n = 1.2 ± 0.3 and a quadrupole normalization Qrms-PS = 15.3−2.8+3.8 μK. For n = 1 the best-fit normalization is Qrms-PS|n=1 = 18 ± 1.6 μK. These values are consistent with both our previous 1 yr and 2 yr results. The results include use of the ℓ = 2 quadrupole term; exclusion of this term gives consistent results, but with larger uncertainties. The final DMR 4 yr sky maps, presented in this Letter, portray an accurate overall visual impression of the anisotropy since the signal-to-noise ratio is ~2 per 10° sky map patch. The improved signal-to-noise ratio of the 4 yr maps also allows for improvements in Galactic modeling and limits on non-Gaussian statistics.
Footnotes
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NASA/GSFC is responsible for the design, development, and operations of the COBE, and for the development of the analysis software and the delivery of the mission data sets. Scientific guidance is provided by the COBE Science Working Group.
