Peering Beyond the Veil of Last Scattering: A View of the Universe with CMB Spectral Distortions

arXiv:2609.16194 · astro-ph.CO, astro-ph.IM, hep-ph · Submitted 2026-09-14 · Read on arXiv

astro-ph.CO, astro-ph.IM, hep-ph

Submitted: 2026-09-14

Updated: 2026-09-14

License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

Terminology

• Spectral Distortions — 176× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Anisotropy — 59× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Cosmic Microwave Background — 58× in this paper
• Primordial Magnetic Fields — 50× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Calibration — 36× in this paper · explained in 7 episodes
• Non-Gaussianity — 36× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Hubble Tension — 27× in this paper · explained in 9 episodes
• Abundance — 23× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Standard Model — 23× in this paper
• Cosmic Infrared Background — 21× in this paper
• Phase Transitions — 18× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Primordial non-Gaussianity — 18× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• AGN — 14× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Anomalous Microwave Emission — 14× in this paper
• Cosmological Recombination Radiation — 13× in this paper
• Bispectrum — 12× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Clustering — 10× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Trace — 10× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Spectral Signature — 9× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Accuracy — 8× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis — 8× in this paper
• Topological Defects — 8× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Frequency Dependence — 7× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Weak Lensing — 7× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Matter Power Spectrum — 6× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe — 6× in this paper
• Benchmark — 5× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Boltzmann Equation — 5× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Decoupling — 5× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Robustness — 5× in this paper · explained in 5 episodes
• Simons Observatory — 5× in this paper
• AGN Feedback — 4× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Ambipolar Diffusion — 4× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Baryonic Feedback — 4× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Consistency — 4× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Degeneracy — 4× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Tenerife Microwave Spectrometer — 4× in this paper
• 21-cm signal — 3× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Aperture — 3× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Domain Walls — 3× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Gravitational Lensing — 3× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Little Red Dots — 3× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Symmetry Breaking — 3× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Tip of the Red Giant Branch — 3× in this paper
• pulsar timing arrays — 3× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• 21-cm global signal — 2× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Adam — 2× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Adiabatic Evolution — 2× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Core — 2× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Differential Fourier Transform Spectrometer — 2× in this paper
• James Webb Space Telescope — 2× in this paper
• Metallicity — 2× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) — 2× in this paper · explained in 7 episodes
• Reheating — 2× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• alpha — 2× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• APEX — 1× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Ab Initio — 1× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) — 1× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Alignment — 1× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Angular cross-correlation — 1× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Bayesian Inference — 1× in this paper · explained in 5 episodes
• Coherence Length — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Galaxy Quenching — 1× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• Homogeneity — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• LOFAR European Research Infrastructure Consortium — 1× in this paper
• Nonminimal coupling — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Unified Framework — 1× in this paper · explained in 5 episodes
• Verification — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes

Sources

• DASI First Results: A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Angular Power Spectrum
• The Anisotropy of the Microwave Background to l = 3500: Mosaic Observations with the Cosmic Background Imager
• The Temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Detection of B-mode Polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background with Data from the South Pole Telescope
• A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background B-Mode Polarization Power Spectrum at Sub-Degree Scales with POLARBEAR
• A Joint Analysis of BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck Data
• BICEP / Keck XIII: Improved Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves using Planck, WMAP, and BICEP/Keck Observations through the 2018 Observing Season
• Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Final Maps and Results
• Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological Parameter Results
• Planck 2018 results. I. Overview and the cosmological legacy of Planck
• Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters
• The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: DR4 Maps and Cosmological Parameters
• The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: DR6 Power Spectra, Likelihoods and $\Lambda$CDM Parameters
• The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: DR6 Gravitational Lensing Map and Cosmological Parameters
• A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Damping Tail from the 2500-square-degree SPT-SZ survey
• A Measurement of the CMB Temperature Power Spectrum and Constraints on Cosmology from the SPT-3G 2018 TT/TE/EE Data Set
• The Simons Observatory: Science goals and forecasts
• Probing Cosmic Inflation with the LiteBIRD Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Survey
• Which spectral distortions does $\Lambda$CDM actually predict?
• CLASS: The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor

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