3K: The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

A review covering all aspects of the study of the cosmic background radiation remnant of the hot Big Bang origin of the Universe.

R. B. Partridge (Author)

9780521358088, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 23 April 2007

396 pages, 73 b/w illus. 17 tables
24.2 x 16.6 x 2.2 cm, 0.623 kg

"After 30 years, the cosmic background radiation remains the most promising probe of the early universe. Over the next ten years, startling claims will emerge from the CBR community. Estimates of the Hubble constant, curvature of the universe, and cosmological constant accurate to a few percent will be made. For both the people making these claims and those attempting to understand their validity, this book will be an essential resource." Scott Dodelson, Science

What processes fixed the designs etched on the cosmic background radiation (CBR)? And what can they tell us about the early Universe, and the origin and evolution of cosmic structure? This review covers all aspects of three decades of study of this ghostly remnant of the hot Big Bang origin of the Universe, and examines the consequences for astrophysics, cosmology and theories of the evolution of large-scale cosmic structure. The observational techniques used to measure the spectrum of CBR, and its angular distribution on the sky, are examined in clear but critical detail: from the work of Penzias and Wilson in 1964, to results from NASA's Cosmic Microwave Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. This review takes these observations and shows how they have shaped our understanding of the early history of the Universe, and of the origin and evolution of the large-scale structures in it. As a reference this book is suitable for researchers, with introductory chapters in cosmology and radio astronomy provided for graduates in physics and astronomy entering into cosmology or CBR research.

Preface
1. Cosmology
2. The early history of CBR studies
3. Radio astronomy
4. The spectrum of the CBR
5. What we learn from observations of the CBR spectrum
6. Searches for anisotropy in the CBR on large angular scales
7. Searches for anisotropy in the CBR on small angular scales
8. What do we learn from the angular distribution of the CBR?
Appendices
Index.

Subject Areas: Astrophysics [PHVB], Cosmology & the universe [PGK], Theoretical & mathematical astronomy [PGC]