Physics of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy

Abstract

Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), especially of its frequency spectrum and its anisotropies, both in temperature and in polarization, have played a key role in the development of modern cosmology and of our understanding of the very early universe. We review the underlying physics of the CMB and how the primordial temperature and polarization anisotropies were imprinted. Possibilities for distinguishing competing cosmological models are emphasized. The current status of CMB experiments and experimental techniques with an emphasis toward future observations, particularly in polarization, is reviewed. The physics of foreground emissions, especially of polarized dust, is discussed in detail, since this area is likely to become crucial for measurements of the B modes of the CMB polarization at ever greater sensitivity.