DR. BRAJESH GUPT

The quantum geometric effects of loop quantum cosmology (LQC) naturally resolve the classical big bang singularity in FRW spacetime and provide an excellent avenue to extend the inflationary paradigm all the way to the Planck scale. Due to the modified dynamics in the pre-inflationary era the initial conditions for both the background and cosmological perturbations in LQC are different from those in the standard inflationary scenario. We find that such modifications can lead to observational signatures on the cosmic microwave background (CMB), hence providing a new window to study the CMB anomalies. In this talk, we discuss the potential footprints of quantum geometry in the inflationary power spectrum. In particular we describe a mechanism that leads to suppression of power at low multipoles in the CMB temperature anisotropy spectrum, and compare our results with the recent Planck data.