FAST SPHERICAL HARMONIC-ANALYSIS - A QUICK ALGORITHM FOR GENERATING AND OR INVERTING FULL-SKY, HIGH-RESOLUTION COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND ANISOTROPY MAPS/

We present a fast algorithm for generating full-sky, high-resolution ( similar to 5') simulations of the cosmic microwave background anisotro py pattern. We also discuss the inverse problem, that of evaluating fr om such a map the full set of a(im) values and the spectral coefficien ts C-l. We show that using an equidistant cylindrical projection of th e sky substantially speeds up the calculations. Thus, generating and/o r inverting a full-sky, high-resolution map can be easily achieved wit h present-day computer technology.