The Cosmic Rosetta Stone

NOV 01, 1997

Microkelvin variations in the cosmic microwave background encode a wealth of information about the origin and composition of the universe.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881995

Charles L. Bennett

Michael S. Turner

Martin White

Today the universe is characterized by a richness of complexity. Structure exists on scales from stars to superclusters of galaxies and beyond. Ordinary “baryonic” matter, in the form of protons, nuclei and their accompanying electrons, is found in stars, diffuse hot gas, cold gas and other forms; the admixture varies greatly with environment.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

1. See, for example, R. B. Partridge, 3K: The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, Cambridge U.P., Cambridge, England (1995);
or H. Kragh, Cosmology and Controversy, Princeton U.P., Princeton, N.J. (1996).
2. R. Weiss, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 18, 489 (1980).
3. See, for example, D. N. Schramm, M. S. Turner, Rev. Mod. Phys. (1998), in press.
4. J. Mather et al., Astrophys. J. 354, L37 (1990). https://doi.org/ASJOAB
D. Fixsenei et al.Astrophys. J. 437, 576 (1996).https://doi.org/ASJOAB
5. P. J. E. Peebles, Principles of Physical Cosmology, Princeton U.P., Princeton, N.J. (1993).
6. See, for example, A. C. S. Readhead, C. Lawrence, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 30, 653 (1992).
7. G. Smoot et al., Astrophys. J. 396, L1 (1992).
C. Bennett et al., Astrophys. J. 396, L7 (1992). https://doi.org/ASJOAB
E. Wright et al., Astrophys. J. 396, L11 (1992).
8. A. H. Guth, S.‐Y. Pi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1110 (1982). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
S. Hawking, Phys. Lett. B 115, 295 (1982). https://doi.org/PYLBAJ
A. Starobinskii, Phys. Lett. B 117, 175 (1982). https://doi.org/PYLBAJ
J. M. Bardeen, P. Steinhardt, M. S. Turner, Phys. Rev. D 28, 697 (1983).https://doi.org/PRVDAQ
9. See, for example, A. Vilenkin, E. Shellard, Cosmic Strings and Topological Defects, Cambridge U.P., Cambridge, England (1996).
10. J. Magueijo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2617 (1996). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
U.‐L. Pen, U. Seljak, N. Turok, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 1611 (1997). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
B. Allen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., in press.
11. See, for example, G. Blumenthal et al., Nature 311, 517 (1984); https://doi.org/NATUAS
or S. Dodelson, E. Gates, M. S. Turner, Science 274, 69 (1996).https://doi.org/SCIEAS
12. C. Bennett et al., Astrophys. J. 464, L1 (1996).
K. Gorski et al., Astrophys. J. 464, L11 (1996).
13. L. Knox, Phys. Rev. D 52, 4307 (1995). https://doi.org/PRVDAQ
G. Jungman et al., Phys. Rev. D 54, 1332 (1996). https://doi.org/PRVDAQ
M. Zaldarriaga, D. Spergel, U. Seljak, Astrophys. J. 488, 1 (1997). https://doi.org/ASJOAB
J. Bond, G. Efstathiou, M. Tegmark, astro‐ph/9702100 (available on http://xxx.lanl.gov).
14. M. J. Rees, Astrophys. J. 153, L1 (1968).
M. Kamionkowski, A. Kosowsky, A. Stebbins, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2858 (1997). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
W. Hu, M. White, New Astronomy 2, 323 (1997);
A. Melchiorri, N. Vittorio, astro‐ph/9610029.
15. See, for example, J. Lidsey et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 69, 373 (1997).https://doi.org/RMPHAT
16. See, for example, D. Scott, M. White, Gen. Rel. Grav. 27, 1023 (1995); https://doi.org/GRGVA8
or W. Hu, N. Sugiyama, J. Silk, Nature 386, 37 (1997).https://doi.org/NATUAS
17. P. J. E. Peebles, J. T. Yu, Astrophys. J. 162, 815 (1970). https://doi.org/ASJOAB
A. Doroshkevich, Ya. B. Zel’dovich, R. A. Sunyaev, Sov. Astron. 22, 523 (1978). https://doi.org/SAAJAN
J. Bond, G. Efstathiou, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 226, 655 (1987).https://doi.org/MNRAA4

More about the Authors

Charles L. Bennett. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Michael S. Turner. University of Chicago and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois.

Martin White. University of Chicago.