CMB Observables and Their Cosmological Implications 2002

The tremendous experimental progress in cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropy studies over the last few years has helped establish a standard paradigm for cosmology at intermediate epochs and has simultaneously raised questions regarding the physical processes at the two opposite ends of time. We review the acoustic phenomenology that forms the cornerstone of the standard cosmological model and discuss internal consistency relations which lend credence to its interpretation. We touch on future milestones in the study of CMB anisotropy and their implications for inflationary and dark energy models.