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Planck Toolkit introduction

21 MAR. 2013 publication date 6727 Views

Welcome to the Planck ‘toolkit’ – a series of short questions and answers designed to equip you with background information on key cosmological topics addressed by the Planck science releases. The questions are arranged in thematic blocks; click the header to visit the relevant topic, or use the links on the right hand side of the page.

What is Planck and what is it studying?
What is the Cosmic Microwave Background?
Why is it so important to study the CMB?
When was the CMB first detected?
How many space missions have studied the CMB?
What does the CMB look like?
What is ‘the standard model of cosmology’ and how does it relate to the CMB?

How did the temperature fluctuations get there?
How exactly do the temperature fluctuations relate to density fluctuations?

How is matter distributed in the Universe?
Has the Universe always had such a rich variety of structure?
How did the Universe evolve from very smooth to highly structured?
How can we study the evolution of cosmic structure?

How is the distribution of matter in the Universe described mathematically?
What is the power spectrum?
What is the power spectrum of the distribution of matter in the Universe?
Why are cosmologists interested in the power spectrum of cosmic structure?
What was the distribution of the primordial fluctuations?
How does this relate to the fluctuations in the CMB?

How did seed fluctuations grow into today's cosmic structures such as galaxies and galaxy clusters?
How did the formation of structure effect the CMB?
How is the history of cosmic structure formation encoded in the CMB and power spectrum?

Did the photons travel freely ever since the CMB was released?
What happens when the CMB photons encounter structure in the cosmic web?
Do the CMB photons encounter other particles along their way?

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21 MAR. 2013

Planck toolkit introduction

Welcome to the Planck ‘toolkit’ – a series of short questions and answers designed to equip you with background information on key cosmological topics addressed by the Planck science releases. The questions are arranged in thematic blocks; click the header to visit the relevant topic, or use the links on the right hand side of the page.
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CMB and the distribution of matter

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