Lecture notes on the physics of cosmic microwave background anisotropies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
2010-02-22 v1
Abstract
We review the theory of the temperature anisotropy and polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, and describe what we have learned from current CMB observations. In particular, we discuss how the CMB is being used to provide precise measurements of the composition and geometry of the observable universe, and to constrain the physics of the early universe. We also briefly review the physics of the small-scale CMB fluctuations generated during and after the epoch of reionization, and which are the target of a new breed of arcminute-resolution instruments.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0903.5158,
title = {Lecture notes on the physics of cosmic microwave background anisotropies},
author = {Anthony Challinor and Hiranya Peiris},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0903.5158},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
55 pages, 11 figures. To appear in Proc. XIII Brazilian School of Cosmology and Gravitation