MICROWAVE ANISOTROPIES FROM COSMIC DEFECTS

High-resolution maps of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic mic rowave background radiation will provide valuable insight into the mec hanism of structure formation in the early Universe. Theories involvin g Inflation generally predict a pattern of gaussian (random) noise, wh ereas theories based on symmetry breaking and the generation of defect s-such as strings; textures and monopoles-have more distinctive signat ures. Degree-scale measurements of the microwave background currently in progress should provide a powerful test of these competing theories .