A&A 490, 521–535 (2008) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200809861 & c ESO 2008 Astrophysics Effects of primordial chemistry on the cosmic microwave background D. R. G. Schleicher1, D. Galli2,F.Palla2, M. Camenzind3, R. S. Klessen1, M. Bartelmann1, and S. C. O. Glover4 1 Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics / ZAH, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany e-mail: [dschleic;rklessen;mbartelmann]@ita.uni-heidelberg.de 2 INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy e-mail: [galli;palla]@arcetri.astro.it 3 Landessternwarte Heidelberg / ZAH, Koenigstuhl 12, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany e-mail:
[email protected] 4 Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany e-mail:
[email protected] Received 27 March 2008 / Accepted 3 July 2008 ABSTRACT Context. Previous works have demonstrated that the generation of secondary CMB anisotropies due to the molecular optical depth is likely too small to be observed. In this paper, we examine additional ways in which primordial chemistry and the dark ages might influence the CMB. Aims. We seek a detailed understanding of the formation of molecules in the postrecombination universe and their interactions with the CMB. We present a detailed and updated chemical network and an overview of the interactions of molecules with the CMB. Methods. We calculate the evolution of primordial chemistry in a homogeneous universe and determine the optical depth due to line absorption, photoionization and photodissociation, and estimate the resulting changes in the CMB temperature and its power spectrum. Corrections for stimulated and spontaneous emission are taken into account.