Related papers: High precision cosmology
Precision measurements of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background and of the clustering of large-scale structure have supposedly confirmed that the primordial density perturbation has a (nearly) scale-invariant spectrum. However…
The majority of present efforts to constrain cosmological parameters with cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data employ approximate likelihood functions, the time consuming nature of a complete analysis being a major obstacle. We…
Measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) allow high precision observation of the Last Scattering Surface at redshift $z\sim$1100. After the success of the NASA satellite COBE, that in 1992 provided the first detection of the…
In this review, we give an overview of some of the major aspects of data reduction and analysis for the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Since its prediction and discovery in the last century, the CMB radiation has proven itself to be one…
These lecture notes present the computation of the full system of Boltzmann equations describing the evolution of the photon, baryon and cold dark matter fluids up to second order in perturbation theory, as recently studied in (Bartolo,…
It has been argued that the large-angle cosmic microwave background anisotropy has anomalies at 3-sigma level. We review various proposed ideas to explain the origin of the anomalies and discuss how we can constrain the proposed models…
In recent years precision cosmology has become an increasingly powerful probe of particle physics. Perhaps the prime example of this is the very stringent cosmological upper bound on the neutrino mass. However, other aspects of neutrino…
A compact overview of the status of CMB anisotropy results and their cosmological interpretation. Section headings: Introduction; CMB Spectrum; Description of CMB Anisotropies; Cosmological Parameters; Physics of Anisotropies; Current…
As the era of high precision cosmology approaches, the empirically determined power spectrum of the microwave background anisotropy $C_l$ will provide a crucial test for cosmological theories. We present an exact semi-analytic framework for…
The analysis of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) has become an extremely valuable tool for cosmology. We even have hopes that planned CMB anisotropy experiments may revolutionize cosmology. Together with determinations…
We review the physical processes that are thought to produce anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background, focusing primarily (but not exclusively) on the effects of acoustic waves in the early Universe. We attempt throughout to supply an…
The next decade promises an observational revolution which will change cosmology forever. The precise measurement of the angular anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background should specify to a few percent all of the parameters of the…
We show the existence of spatially homogeneous but anisotropic cosmological models whose cosmic microwave background temperature is exactly isotropic at one instant of time but whose rate of expansion is highly anisotropic. The existence of…
In these lectures I focus on early universe models which can explain the currently observed structure on large scales. I begin with a survey of inflationary cosmology, the current paradigm for understanding the origin of the universe as we…
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a project to map the microwave background radiation at arcminute angular resolution and high sensitivity in three frequency bands over substantial sky areas. Cosmological signals driving such an experiment…
Recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy have provided evidence for the presence of oscillations in the angular power spectrum. These oscillations are a wonderful confirmation of the standard cosmological scenario…
The flat matter dominated Universe that dominated cosmological model building for much of the past 20 years does not correspond to the Universe in which we live. This has profound implications both for our understanding of dark matter, and…
Questions such as whether we live in a spatially finite universe, and what its shape and size may be, are among the fundamental open problems that high precision modern cosmology needs to resolve. These questions go beyond the scope of…
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…
Direct techniques for cosmic ray observations have reached an unprecedented level of precision, unveiling fine-details of the energy spectra. I will introduce the evidence for new spectral features which has been accumulated by new…