The cosmic background radiation circa ν2K

We describe the implications of cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations and galaxy and cluster surveys of large scale structure (LSS) for theories of cosmic structure formation, especially emphasizing the recent Boomerang and Maxima CMB balloon experiments. The inflation-based cosmic structure formation paradigm we have been operating with for two decades has never been in better shape. Here we primarily focus on a simplified inflation parameter set, {ωb, ωcdm, ωtot, ωΛ, ηs, τC, σ8}. Combining all of the curre data points to the remarkable conclusion that the local Hubble patch we can access has little mean curvature (ωtot = 1.08 ± 0.06) and the initial fluctuations were nearly scale invariant (ηs = 1.03 ± 0.08), both predictions of (non-baroque) inflation theory. The baryon density is found to be slightly larger than that preferred by independent Big Bang Nucleosynthesis estimates (ωb ≡ ωbh2 = 0.030 ± 0.005 cf. 0.019 ± 0.002). The CDM density is in the expected range (ωcdm = 0.17 ± 0.02). Even stranger is the CMB+LSS evidence that the density of the universe is dominated by unclustered energy akin to the cosmological constant (ωΛ = 0.66 ± 0.06), at the same level as that inferred from high redshift supernova observations. We also sketch the CMB+LSS implications for massive neutrinos.