Abstract
The search for alternative cosmological models is largely motivated by the
growing discordance between the predictions of LCDM and the ever improving
observations, such as the disparity in the value of H_0 measured at low and
high redshifts. One model, in particular, known as the R_h=ct universe, has
been highly successful in mitigating or removing all of the inconsistencies. In
this picture, however, the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background
(CMB) would have emerged at a redshift z ~ 16, rather than via fluctuations in
the recombination zone at z~1080. We demonstrate here that a CMB created in the
early Universe, followed by scattering through a Pop III generated dust screen,
cannot yet be ruled out by the current data. Indeed, the Planck measurements
provide a hint of a ~2-4% frequency dependence in the CMB power spectrum, which
would be naturally explained as a variation in the optical depth through the
dust, but not a Thomson scattering-dominated recombination environment.
Upcoming measurements should be able to easily distinguish between these two
scenarios, e.g., via the detection of recombination lines at z~1080, which
would completely eliminate the dust reprocessing idea.
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