Great Attractor-like structures and large-scale anisotropy

The effect on the cosmic microwave background of isolated Great Attractor-like objects is numerically computed. The code is based on the Tolman–Bondi solution of the Einstein equations. The background is assumed to be an open universe. The density parameter |Ω₀| is varied from 0.15 to 0.4. Great Attractor-like structures are placed at redshifts between 2 and 30. As a result of the chosen backgrounds and locations, these structures produce pure gravitational spots with amplitudes |~ 10⁻⁵| and angular sizes of a few degrees. A significant part of the large-scale anisotropy of the microwave background could be produced by these spots. This fact highlights the need for important modifications of the current ideas about anisotropy production on large angular scales.