NOTE: this talk will take place in DS 2.14

Speaker: Jens Chluba (JHU/Cambridge)

Abstract:

Planck has measured the CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies with unprecedented precision, reaching it full constraining power with this years data release. One of the crucial ingredients for the analysis of the CMB power spectra and their cosmological interpretation is a precise understanding of the cosmic recombination history. Due to the impressive sensitivity of Planck, many subtile atomic physics and radiative transfer effects have to be taken into account to ensure that key parameters like the baryon density and the spectral index of scalar perturbations remain unaffected by uncertainties in the recombination model. I will give a brief overview of these processes and highlight some of the remaining uncertainties that could be relevant to future CMB experiments and how we may be able to deal with them.