The cosmic microwave background radiation

Conference · Tue Dec 29 04:00:00 EST 1981 · Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6598757

Silk, J

Because angular anisotropies and spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background radiation are judged to be inevitable at some level, in a realistic cosmological model, the evidence for spectral distortions and its theoretical implications are described. The evidence for anisotropy is then discussed, and theoretical predictions of radiation anisotropy are summarized and compared with the data available. It is found that spectral distortions at the 3-sigma level near the peak of the blackbody spectrum, although inconsistent with the predicted distortions due to Compton scattering in the early universe, are elegantly interpreted in terms of radiation from an early, pregalactic generation of massive stars which had been thermalized by a modest amount of dust at high redshift. The quadrupole anisotropy at the 4-sigma level is most simply interpreted in terms of the large-scale structure of the universe.

• Research Organization: California, University, Berkeley, CA
• OSTI ID: 6598757
• Report Number(s): CONF-801250-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.; (United States) Journal Volume: 375
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640106* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Cosmology
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANISOTROPY
BACKGROUND RADIATION
BASIC INTERACTIONS
BLACKBODY RADIATION
COMPTON EFFECT
COSMOLOGICAL MODELS
COSMOLOGY
ELASTIC SCATTERING
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
INTERACTIONS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MICROWAVE RADIATION
RADIATIONS
RED SHIFT
SCATTERING