RUI: Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Observations

宇宙微波背景辐射(CBR)比其他任何天文信号都来自更远的地方。因此，它携带着关于宇宙早期历史和最大规模的独特信息。特别是，CBR的角分布可以告诉我们宇宙中大型结构的起源和早期演化，如星系、星系团和超星系团。因此，已经做出了许多努力来检测CBR中的角度变化或各向异性。除了180度(偶极)标度，没有一项成功。这项研究继续搜索CBR在三个不同的角度尺度上的各向异性，在10到40角秒之间，在2到10度之间，在10到180度之间。三种不同的技术被用来实现比以前的测量高出约三倍的灵敏度。CBR还提供了一种方法来揭示和绘制星系团中星际等离子体的密度和温度(Sunyaev-Zeldovich效应)；这种测量可以与X射线图结合起来，帮助确定宇宙的距离尺度。

The cosmic microwave background radiation (CBR) comes to us from further away than any other astronomical signals. Hence it carries unique information about the Universe early in its history and on the largest scale. In particular, the angular distribution of the CBR can tell us about the origin and early evolution of large structures in the Universe, such as galaxies, clusters, and superclusters. Hence many efforts have been made to detect angular variations or anisotropies in the CBR. Except on the 180 degree (dipole) scale, none have succeeded. This research continues the search for CBR anisotropies on three different angular scales, between 10 and 40 arc seconds, between 2 and 10 degrees, and between 10 and 180 degrees. Three separate techniques are used to achieve sensitivities some three times greater than previous measurements. The CBR also provides a way to reveal and map the density and temperature of intergalactic plasma in clusters of galaxies (the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect); this measurement may be combined with X-ray maps to help determine the distance scale of the Universe.