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Physical Society Colloquium
C. Barth Netterfield University of Toronto Since the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in the 1960's, it has been recognized that measurements of spatial structure in the CMB would significantly increase our understanding of the Universe. Images of acoustic oscillations in the primordial plasma are frozen in at recombination, when the ionized plasma cools to a neutral gas. The angular spectra of these fluctuations can be used to limit the value of cosmological parameters, such as the total energy density of the Universe, and the physical density in Baryons. BOOMERANG, a Long Duration Balloon Borne telescope, which made its first antarctic flight in Dec 1998 - Jan 1999 has produced images of the CMB with sensitivity and resolution adequate to resolve these fluctuations, and to capitalize on the CMB's cosmological potential. These images, and their associated angular power spectra will be presented, along with cosmological implications.
Friday, March 2nd 2001, 15:30 |