Refined Planck data clarify universe creation and expansion theory

Science : In 2013 the European Space Agency (ESA) released its initial analysis of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation polarization and temperature data collected by the Planck spacecraft . The results were significant, but they did not overlap similar results derived from data collected by NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). Yesterday, ESA released an updated and recalibrated analysis of the Planck data. The new analysis reduced the absolute temperature measurement disagreement from 1.0–1.5% to just 0.3%, within both data sets’ error margin. It also shifted the calculated age and expansion rate of the universe to within previous experimental uncertainties. The new CMB polarization map puts some limits on potential dark matter sources, potentially including theories that explain the high rate of positron detection by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. However, it does not change the map of interstellar dust the ESA released in September that suggested that the BICEP2 detection of inflationary gravitational waves was most likely a false positive.