Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/iii/paper-58/4/e/solution

Let . Statistical isotropy and applied to the preceding expression give the CMB angular power spectrum
For , define the constant dimensionless potential power . Then
The needed logarithmic spherical Bessel square integral can be proved directly. Put and . From the Spherical Bessel function recurrences,
integration of the squares' derivatives gives , and for also . At , and give , hence . Induction now proves . Consequently
This is the flat large-angle Sachs-Wolfe plateau. The useful integral printed in the PDF is missing the square on : without that square the formula is false, since at its left-hand side is , whereas its asserted value would be . The squared identity above is the one required by the variance calculation. The plateau describes the matter-era large-angle approximation, not acoustic peaks or late integrated-potential corrections.

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