The Cosmic Infrared Background: Measurements and Implications
M. G. Hauser, E. Dwek;
ARAA, 2001, 39, 249
ABSTRACT:The cosmic infrared background records much of the radiant energy released by processes of structure formation that have occurred since the
decoupling of matter and radiation following the Big Bang.
In the past few years,
data from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission provided the first
measurements of this background, with additional constraints coming from studies
of the attenuation of TeV γ-rays.
At the same time, there has been
rapid progress in resolving a significant fraction of this background with
the deep galaxy counts at infrared wavelengths from the Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO) instruments and at submillimeter wavelengths from the
Submillimeter Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) instrument.
This article
reviews the measurements of the infrared background and sources contributing
to it and discusses the implications for past and present cosmic
processes.
KEYWORDS: extragalactic background light, cosmology, cobe, galaxy evolution, cosmic chemical evolution, background fluctuations, tev γ-rays, integrated galaxy light
CODE: hauser2001