1997/02/04 by Charles H. Lineweaver, C. H. Lineweaver, Lineweaver, C. H.
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Mathematical Theories and Applications #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9702042
21 pages, 11 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the International School in Astrophysics: "From Quantum Fluctuations to Cosmological Structures" held in Casablanca, Morocco, December 1 - 10, 1996
arxiv created 1997/02/04 · openalex publication_date 1997/02/04 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Research on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is progressing rapidly. New experimental groups are popping up and two new satellites will be launched. The current enthusiasm to measure fluctuations in the CMB power spectrum at angular scales between 0.1 and 1 degree is largely motivated by the expectation that CMB determinations of cosmological parameters will be of unprecedented precision: cosmological gold. In this article I will try to answer the following questions: 1) What is the CMB? 2) What are cosmological parameters? 3) What is the CMB power spectrum? 4) What are all those bumps in the power spectrum? 5) What are the current CMB constraints on cosmological parameters?