A test on the Gaussian nature of primeval fluctuations

Abstract

According to their origin and to the extent of their non linear evolution, density fluctuations can have a Gaussian or a non-Gaussian character. Methods to determine such character would therefore furnish a substantial insight into the type of primeval fluctuations which produced the present state of the Universe. E.g., the discovery of a Gaussian or nearly-Gaussian behaviour would substantially decrease the possibility that primeval topological faults (strings) played a role in the formation of the actual fluctuation spectrum. This would certainly not inhibit their possible presence, but they would probably be not the only origin of the present large scale structure in the Universe.