Implications of the deviations in the spectrum of the cosmic background radiation

The recently observed spectrum of the cosmic background radiation shows an excess (as compared with a blackbody spectrum) of photons at low energy, a deviation opposite to that usually predicted to result from the dissipation of turbulent energy, reheating after recombination, superposition of blackbody spectra, etc. It is assumed that the observed deviations result from natural processes in the early universe, and the consequences of this assumption are investigated. Free-free emission from dense moderate-temperature regions around the time of recombination is suggested as the most plausible origin of the deviations. Such dense regions, if of reasonable (i.e., galactic) mass, are precluded in the standard viewpoint by radiation drag, but the enormous turbulent velocities implied by the magnitude of the deviations could require a revision of the established picture of the damping of turbulence. A model based on high velocity turbulence, however, is not easily reconciled with several theoretical and observational considerations.