Gold in the Doppler Hills: Cosmological Parameters in the Microwave Background
Abstract
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?
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