COSMOLOGY CONFRONTS THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND

1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (08) ◽  
pp. 1091-1124 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAUL J. STEINHARDT
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Microwave Background ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Inflationary Model ◽  
Microwave Background ◽  
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy ◽  
Physical Laws ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Fundamental Physical ◽  
Physical Principles

Observational tests during the next decade may determine if the evolution of the Universe can be understood from fundamental physical principles, or if special initial conditions, coincidences, and new, untestable physical laws must be invoked. The inflationary model of the Universe is an important example of a predictive cosmological theory based on physical principles. In this article, we discuss the distinctive fingerprint that inflation leaves on the cosmic microwave background anisotropy. We then suggest a series of five milestone experimental tests of the microwave background which could determine the validity of the inflationary hypothesis within the next decade.

scholarly journals Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy at Degree Angular Scales and the Thermal History of the Universe

1997 ◽  
Vol 480 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo de Bernardis ◽  
Amedeo Balbi ◽  
Giancarlo De Gasperis ◽  
Alessandro Melchiorri ◽  
Nicola Vittorio
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Microwave Background ◽  
Thermal History ◽  
Microwave Background ◽  
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

scholarly journals GRAVITY HEATS THE UNIVERSE

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 2201-2207
Author(s):  
ADAM MOSS ◽  
DOUGLAS SCOTT
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Potential Energy ◽  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Cosmic Microwave Background ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Gravitational Instability ◽  
Simplified Model ◽  
Microwave Background ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
The Universe

Structures in the Universe grew through gravitational instability from very smooth initial conditions. Energy conservation requires that the growing negative potential energy of these structures be balanced by an increase in kinetic energy. A fraction of this is converted into heat in the collisional gas of the intergalactic medium. Using a toy model of gravitational heating, we attempt to link the growth of structure in the Universe with the average temperature of this gas. We find that the gas is rapidly heated from collapsing structures at around z ~ 10, reaching a temperature > 106 K today, depending on some assumptions of our simplified model. Before that there was a cold era from z ~ 100 to ~10 in which the matter temperature was below that of the cosmic microwave background.

The TopHat Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Experiment

2005 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 65-70
Author(s):  
Robert F. Silverberg ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Microwave Background ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Background Radiation ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Microwave Background ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy ◽  
Microwave Background Radiation ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Large Scale Structure Formation

We have developed a balloon-borne experiment to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation anisotropy on angular scales from ˜50° down to ˜20′. The instrument observes at frequencies between 150 and 690 GHz and will be flown on an Antarctic circumpolar long duration flight. To greatly improve the experiment performance, the front-end of the experiment is mounted on the top of the balloon. With high sensitivity, broad sky coverage, and well-characterized systematic errors, the results of this experiment can be used to strongly constrain cosmological models and probe the early stages of large-scale structure formation in the Universe.

scholarly journals Cosmic microwave background: probing the universe from z = 6 to 1100

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (14) ◽  
pp. 254-254
Author(s):  
David N. Spergel
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Microwave Background ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Microwave Background ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
Cosmic Microwave Background Temperature ◽  
Background Temperature ◽  
The Universe

Observations of cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization fluctuations are sensitive to both physical conditions at recombination (z = 1100) and physical process along the line of sight. I will discuss recent results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and planned ground and space-based observations. The talk will emphasize the role of CMB observations in determining the initial conditions for the growth of structure and as a probe of the physics of re-ionization.

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