Columbia University

Title: Cosmology after WMAP

Abstract: When the WMAP mission reported its first results in February, it delivered by far the most detailed measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background ever performed. Using this data, many cosmological parameters can be measured to two or even three significant figures. This marks the arrival of ``precision cosmology'', as competing cosmological scenarios now face stringent observational tests. In this colloquium I describe the implications of WMAP for theoretical cosmology. I will focus on the extent to which WMAP can exclude specific cosmological scenarios, and discuss the hints of ``non-vanilla'' cosmology found within the current WMAP dataset.