Title :
WMAP - a portrait of the early universe
Author_Institution :
Sci. & Exploration Directorate, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Abstract :
A host of astrophysical observations suggest that early Universe was incredibly hot, dense, and homogeneous. A powerful probe of this time is provided by the relic radiation which we refer to today as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Images produced from this light contain the earliest glimpse of the Universe after the ldquoBig Bangrdquo and the signature of the evolution of its contents. By exploiting these clues, constraints on the age, mass density, and geometry of the early Universe can be derived. A brief history of the evolution of the microwave radiometer systems and map making approaches used in advancing these aspects our understanding will be reviewed. In addition, an overview of the results from NASApsilas Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) will be presented.
Keywords :
astronomical techniques; cosmology; microwave detectors; radiofrequency cosmic radiation; radiometers; NASA; Universe; WMAP; Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe; astrophysical observation; big bang; cosmic microwave background; map making approach; microwave radiometer; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Broadband amplifiers; Geometry; History; Microwave amplifiers; Microwave radiometry; Millimeter wave integrated circuits; NASA; Probes; Radiofrequency integrated circuits;
Conference_Titel :
Recent Advances in Microwave Theory and Applications, 2008. MICROWAVE 2008. International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Jaipur
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2690-4
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2691-1
DOI :
10.1109/AMTA.2008.4763245
