Low Variance at large scales of WMAP 9 year data

Understand

We use an optimal estimator to study the variance of the WMAP 9 CMB field at low resolution, in both temperature and polarization.

• Employing realistic Monte Carlo simulation, we find statistically significant deviations from the $\Lambda$CDM model in several sky cuts for the temperature field.
• For the considered masks in this analysis, which cover at least the 54% of the sky, the WMAP 9 CMB sky and $\Lambda$CDM are incompatible at $ \ge 99.94%$ C.L.
• at large angles ($>5^\circ$).