Cosmic Microwave Background and Inflation Parameters

We review the current cosmic parameter determinations of relevance to inflation using the WMAP-1 year, Boomerang, CBI, Acbar, and other CMB data. The basic steps in the pipelines which determine the bandpowers from the raw data from which these estimations are made are summarized. We forecast how the precision is likely to improve with more years of WMAP in combination with future ground-based experiments and with Planck. We address whether the current data indicates strong breaking from uniform acceleration through the relatively small region of the inflaton potential that the CMB probes, manifest in the much-discussed running spectral index or in even more radical braking/breaking scenarios. Although some weak “anomalies” appear in the current data, the statistical case is not there. However increased precision, at the high multipole end and with polarization measurements, will significantly curtail current freedom.