The axis of evil

W e exam ine previous claim s for a preferred axis at ( b;l ) (cid:25) (60 ; (cid:0) 100) in the cosm ic radiation anisotropy,by generalizing theconceptofm ultipoleplanarity to any shapepreference(a conceptwe de(cid:12)ne m athem atically).Contrary to earlierclaim s,we (cid:12)nd thatthe am ountofpowerconcentrated in planar m odes for ‘ = 2 ; 3 is not inconsistent with isotropy and G aussianity. The m ultipoles’ alignm ent,however,isindeed anom alous,and extendsup to ‘ = 5 rejecting statisticalisotropy with a probability in excessof99.9% .There isalso an uncanny correlation ofazim uthalphasesbetween ‘ = 3 and ‘ = 5. W e are unable to blam e these e(cid:11)ects on foreground contam ination or large-scale system aticerrors.W eshow how thisreappraisalm ay becrucialin identifying thetheoreticalm odel behind the anom aly.