The power spectrum of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
depends on most of the key cosmological parameters. Accurate future
measurements of this power spectrum might therefore allow us to determine h,
Omega, Omega_b, Lambda, n, T/S, etc, with hitherto unprecedented accuracy. In
these lecture notes, which are intended to be readable without much prior CMB
knowledge, I review the various physical processes that generate CMB
fluctuations, focusing on how changes in the parameters alters the shape of the
power spectrum. I also discuss foregrounds and real-world data analysis issues
and how these affect the accuracy with which the parameters can be measured.Comment: 40 pages, including 12 figures. Postscript. Latest version available
from http://astro.berkeley.edu/~max/power.html (faster from the US), from
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/~max/power.html (faster from Europe) or from
[email protected]
