Planck 2013 results support the cyclic universe

Abstract

We show that results from the Planck satellite reported in 2013 are consistent with cyclic models of the Universe for natural parameter ranges (i.e. order unity dimensionless coefficients), assuming the standard entropic mechanism for generating curvature perturbations. With improved precision, forthcoming results from Planck and other experiments should be able to test the remaining parameter range and confirm or refute the core predictions, i.e. no observable primordial B-mode polarization and detectable local non-Gaussianity. A new prediction, given the Planck 2013 constraints on the bispectrum, is a sharp constraint on the local trispectrum parameter g(NL); namely, the currently best-understood models predict it is negative, with g(NL) less than or similar to -1700.