MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Undergraduate Theses
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Undergraduate Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Solving the system of atomic rate equations during recombination

Author(s)
Scolnic, Daniel (Daniel M.)
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (1.877Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics.
Advisor
Edmund Bertschinger.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
The recombination of hydrogen at z ~ 800 - 1800 induces distortions to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) spectrum. We present a careful calculation and analysis of all of the main transitions occurring during this period in order to find the electron density throughout recombination and its dependence on each process. Our original motivation was to analyze the effects that Thomson scattering and resonance scattering will have on recombination. However, while working on the project, we found that first we had to thoroughly account for all of the atomic transitions. We present a new method for solving the system of equations throughout the period of recombination. This method allows us to show the effect of individual processes on the total ionization fraction.
Description
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2007.
 
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-60).
 
Date issued
2007
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40913
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Physics.

Collections
  • Undergraduate Theses

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.