This analysis of current cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments is based on the interpretation of multifrequency sky maps in terms of different astrophysical components and it requires ...specifically tailored, component separation algorithms. In this context, internal linear combination (ILC) methods have been extensively used to extract the CMB emission from the WMAP multifrequency data. We present here a modified internal linear component algorithm (MILCA) that generalizes the ILC approach to the case of multiple astrophysical components for which the electromagnetic spectrum is known. In addition, MILCA corrects for the intrinsic noise bias in the standard ILC approach and extends it to a hybrid space-frequency representation of the data. It also allows us to use external templates to minimize the contribution of extra components but still using only a linear combination of the input data. We applied MILCA to simulations of the Planck satellite data at the frequency bands from 100 GHz to 857 GHz. We explore the possibility of reconstructing the Galactic molecular CO emission and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect from the Planck maps. We conclude that MILCA is able to accurately estimate those emissions, and it has been successfully used for this purpose within the Planck collaboration.
We present Xspect, a method to obtain estimates of the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies including analytical error bars developed for the ...Archeops experiment. Cross-power spectra are computed from a set of maps and each of them is in itself an unbiased estimate of the power spectrum as long as the detector noises are uncorrelated. Then, the cross-power spectra are combined into a final temperature power spectrum with error bars analytically derived from the cross-correlation matrix. This method presents three main useful properties: (1) no estimation of the noise power spectrum is needed; (2) complex weighting schemes including sky covering and map noise properties can be easily taken into account, and corrected for, for each input map; and (3) error bars are quickly computed analytically from the data themselves with no Monte Carlo simulations involved. Xspect also permits the study of common fluctuations between maps from different sky surveys such as CMB, Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect or mass fluctuations from weak lensing observations.
Context.
Large field-of-view imaging and polarimetry instruments operating at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths are fundamental tools to understand the role of magnetic fields in channelling ...filament material into prestellar cores, providing unique insight in the physics of galactic star-forming regions. Among other topics, at extra-galactic scales, polarisation observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) will allow us to constrain the possible physical conditions of the emitting plasma from the jets and/or explore the physics of dust inside supernova remnants. The kilo-pixel New IRAM KIDs Array 2 (NIKA2) camera, installed today at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope, represents one of the best tools available to astronomers to produce simultaneous intensity and polarimetry maps over large fields at 260 GHz (1.15 mm).
Aims.
The polarisation measurement, in NIKA and NIKA2, is achieved by rapidly modulating the total incoming polarisation. In the end, this allows one to safely isolate the small science signal from the large, un-polarised, and strongly variable, atmospheric background.
Methods.
The polarisation modulation is achieved by inserting a fast rotating half-wave plate (HWP) in the optical beam. In order to allow wide field-of-view observations, the plate has to be large, with a diameter of 250 mm. The modulation of the polarised signal at 12 Hz also requires the waveplate to be sufficiently light. In addition, this key optical element has to exhibit optimal electromagnetic characteristics in terms of transmission and differential phase-shift. For this purpose, three metamaterial HWPs have been developed using the mesh-filter technology. The knowledge acquired in developing the first two single-band HWPs was used to achieve the more challenging performance requirements of the last dual-band HWP. The first and the third waveplates met the requirements for both the NIKA and NIKA2 instruments.
Results.
We first illustrate the design, the technical developments, the fabrication, and laboratory characterisation of the three mesh-HWPs. The deployment of two such elements in the NIKA and NIKA2 instruments at the 30-metre telescope is then described. We conclude with representative examples of astrophysical maps integrating polarimetry.
Directional detection of Galactic Dark Matter is a promising search strategy for discriminating WIMP events from background. Technical progress on gaseous detectors and read-outs has permitted the ...design and construction of competitive experiments. However, to take full advantage of this powerful detection method, one need to be able to extract information from an observed recoil map to identify a WIMP signal. We present a comprehensive formalism, using a map-based likelihood method allowing to recover the main incoming direction of the signal and its significance, thus proving its Galactic origin. This is a blind analysis intended to be used on any directional data. Constraints are deduced in the (σn,mχ) plane and systematic studies are presented in order to show that, using this analysis tool, unambiguous Dark Matter detection can be achieved on a large range of exposures and background levels.
Planck 2018 results Aghanim, N.; Akrami, Y.; Aumont, J. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
09/2020, Letnik:
641
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present cosmological parameter results from the final full-mission
Planck
measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies, combining information from the temperature and ...polarization maps and the lensing reconstruction. Compared to the 2015 results, improved measurements of large-scale polarization allow the reionization optical depth to be measured with higher precision, leading to significant gains in the precision of other correlated parameters. Improved modelling of the small-scale polarization leads to more robust constraints on many parameters, with residual modelling uncertainties estimated to affect them only at the 0.5
σ
level. We find good consistency with the standard spatially-flat 6-parameter ΛCDM cosmology having a power-law spectrum of adiabatic scalar perturbations (denoted “base ΛCDM” in this paper), from polarization, temperature, and lensing, separately and in combination. A combined analysis gives dark matter density Ω
c
h
2
= 0.120 ± 0.001, baryon density Ω
b
h
2
= 0.0224 ± 0.0001, scalar spectral index
n
s
= 0.965 ± 0.004, and optical depth
τ
= 0.054 ± 0.007 (in this abstract we quote 68% confidence regions on measured parameters and 95% on upper limits). The angular acoustic scale is measured to 0.03% precision, with 100
θ
*
= 1.0411 ± 0.0003. These results are only weakly dependent on the cosmological model and remain stable, with somewhat increased errors, in many commonly considered extensions. Assuming the base-ΛCDM cosmology, the inferred (model-dependent) late-Universe parameters are: Hubble constant
H
0
= (67.4 ± 0.5) km s
−1
Mpc
−1
; matter density parameter Ω
m
= 0.315 ± 0.007; and matter fluctuation amplitude
σ
8
= 0.811 ± 0.006. We find no compelling evidence for extensions to the base-ΛCDM model. Combining with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements (and considering single-parameter extensions) we constrain the effective extra relativistic degrees of freedom to be
N
eff
= 2.99 ± 0.17, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction
N
eff
= 3.046, and find that the neutrino mass is tightly constrained to ∑
m
ν
< 0.12 eV. The CMB spectra continue to prefer higher lensing amplitudes than predicted in base ΛCDM at over 2
σ
, which pulls some parameters that affect the lensing amplitude away from the ΛCDM model; however, this is not supported by the lensing reconstruction or (in models that also change the background geometry) BAO data. The joint constraint with BAO measurements on spatial curvature is consistent with a flat universe, Ω
K
= 0.001 ± 0.002. Also combining with Type Ia supernovae (SNe), the dark-energy equation of state parameter is measured to be
w
0
= −1.03 ± 0.03, consistent with a cosmological constant. We find no evidence for deviations from a purely power-law primordial spectrum, and combining with data from BAO, BICEP2, and Keck Array data, we place a limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio
r
0.002
< 0.06. Standard big-bang nucleosynthesis predictions for the helium and deuterium abundances for the base-ΛCDM cosmology are in excellent agreement with observations. The
Planck
base-ΛCDM results are in good agreement with BAO, SNe, and some galaxy lensing observations, but in slight tension with the Dark Energy Survey’s combined-probe results including galaxy clustering (which prefers lower fluctuation amplitudes or matter density parameters), and in significant, 3.6
σ
, tension with local measurements of the Hubble constant (which prefer a higher value). Simple model extensions that can partially resolve these tensions are not favoured by the
Planck
data.
Planck 2018 results Akrami, Y.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
09/2020, Letnik:
641
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We report on the implications for cosmic inflation of the 2018 release of the
Planck
cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy measurements. The results are fully consistent with those reported ...using the data from the two previous
Planck
cosmological releases, but have smaller uncertainties thanks to improvements in the characterization of polarization at low and high multipoles.
Planck
temperature, polarization, and lensing data determine the spectral index of scalar perturbations to be
n
s
= 0.9649 ± 0.0042 at 68% CL. We find no evidence for a scale dependence of
n
s
, either as a running or as a running of the running. The Universe is found to be consistent with spatial flatness with a precision of 0.4% at 95% CL by combining
Planck
with a compilation of baryon acoustic oscillation data. The
Planck
95% CL upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio,
r
0.002
< 0.10, is further tightened by combining with the BICEP2/Keck Array BK15 data to obtain
r
0.002
< 0.056. In the framework of standard single-field inflationary models with Einstein gravity, these results imply that: (a) the predictions of slow-roll models with a concave potential,
V
″(
ϕ
) < 0, are increasingly favoured by the data; and (b) based on two different methods for reconstructing the inflaton potential, we find no evidence for dynamics beyond slow roll. Three different methods for the non-parametric reconstruction of the primordial power spectrum consistently confirm a pure power law in the range of comoving scales 0.005 Mpc
−1
≲
k
≲ 0.2 Mpc
−1
. A complementary analysis also finds no evidence for theoretically motivated parameterized features in the
Planck
power spectra. For the case of oscillatory features that are logarithmic or linear in
k
, this result is further strengthened by a new combined analysis including the
Planck
bispectrum data. The new
Planck
polarization data provide a stringent test of the adiabaticity of the initial conditions for the cosmological fluctuations. In correlated, mixed adiabatic and isocurvature models, the non-adiabatic contribution to the observed CMB temperature variance is constrained to 1.3%, 1.7%, and 1.7% at 95% CL for cold dark matter, neutrino density, and neutrino velocity, respectively.
Planck
power spectra plus lensing set constraints on the amplitude of compensated cold dark matter-baryon isocurvature perturbations that are consistent with current complementary measurements. The polarization data also provide improved constraints on inflationary models that predict a small statistically anisotropic quadupolar modulation of the primordial fluctuations. However, the polarization data do not support physical models for a scale-dependent dipolar modulation. All these findings support the key predictions of the standard single-field inflationary models, which will be further tested by future cosmological observations.
The Neel IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA) is a fully integrated measurement system based on kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) currently being developed for millimeter wave astronomy. The instrument includes ...dual-band optics allowing simultaneous imaging at 150 GHz and 220 GHz. The imaging sensors consist of two spatially separated arrays of KIDs. The first array, mounted on the 150 GHz branch, is composed of 144 lumped-element KIDs. The second array (220 GHz) consists of 256 antenna-coupled KIDs. Each of the arrays is sensitive to a single polarization; the band splitting is achieved by using a grid polarizer. The optics and sensors are mounted in a custom dilution cryostat, with an operating temperature of ~70 mK. Electronic readout is realized using frequency multiplexing and a transmission line geometry consisting of a coaxial cable connected in series with the sensor array and a low-noise 4 K amplifier. The dual-band NIKA was successfully tested in 2010 October at the Institute for Millimetric Radio Astronomy (IRAM) 30 m telescope at Pico Veleta, Spain, performing in-line with laboratory predictions. An optical NEP was then calculated to be around 2 X 10--16 W Hz--1/2 (at 1 Hz) while under a background loading of approximately 4 pW pixel--1. This improvement in comparison with a preliminary run (2009) verifies that NIKA is approaching the target sensitivity for photon-noise limited ground-based detectors. Taking advantage of the larger arrays and increased sensitivity, a number of scientifically relevant faint and extended objects were then imaged including the Galactic Center SgrB2 (FIR1), the radio galaxy Cygnus A, and the NGC1068 Seyfert galaxy. These targets were all observed simultaneously in the 150 GHz and 220 GHz atmospheric windows.
ABSTRACT
Cosmological analyses based on surveys of galaxy clusters observed through the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effect strongly rely on the mean pressure profile of the cluster population. A tension ...is currently observed between the cosmological constraints obtained from the analyses of the CMB primary anisotropies and those from cluster abundance in SZ surveys. This discrepancy may be explained by a wrong estimate of the hydrostatic bias parameter that links the hydrostatic mass to the true mass of galaxy clusters. However, a variation of both the amplitude and the shape of the mean pressure profile could also explain part of this tension. We analyse the effects of a modification of this profile on the constraints of the σ8 and Ωm parameters through the analysis of the SZ power spectrum measured by the Planck collaboration. We choose two mean pressure profiles that are respectively lower and higher than the one obtained from the observation of nearby clusters by Planck. The selection of the parameters of these two profiles is based on the current estimates of the pressure and gas mass fraction profile distributions at low redshift. The cosmological parameters found for these two profiles are significantly different from the ones obtained with the Planck pressure profile. We conclude that an ${\sim }15{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ decrease of the amplitude of the mean normalized pressure profile would alleviate the tension observed between the constraints of σ8 and Ωm from the CMB and cluster analyses without requiring extreme values of the mass bias parameter.
Planck 2018 results Aghanim, N.; Akrami, Y.; Ashdown, M. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
09/2020, Letnik:
641
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The European Space Agency’s
Planck
satellite, which was dedicated to studying the early Universe and its subsequent evolution, was launched on 14 May 2009. It scanned the microwave and submillimetre ...sky continuously between 12 August 2009 and 23 October 2013, producing deep, high-resolution, all-sky maps in nine frequency bands from 30 to 857 GHz. This paper presents the cosmological legacy of
Planck
, which currently provides our strongest constraints on the parameters of the standard cosmological model and some of the tightest limits available on deviations from that model. The 6-parameter ΛCDM model continues to provide an excellent fit to the cosmic microwave background data at high and low redshift, describing the cosmological information in over a billion map pixels with just six parameters. With 18 peaks in the temperature and polarization angular power spectra constrained well,
Planck
measures five of the six parameters to better than 1% (simultaneously), with the best-determined parameter (
θ
*
) now known to 0.03%. We describe the multi-component sky as seen by
Planck
, the success of the ΛCDM model, and the connection to lower-redshift probes of structure formation. We also give a comprehensive summary of the major changes introduced in this 2018 release. The
Planck
data, alone and in combination with other probes, provide stringent constraints on our models of the early Universe and the large-scale structure within which all astrophysical objects form and evolve. We discuss some lessons learned from the
Planck
mission, and highlight areas ripe for further experimental advances.
The polarized Galactic synchrotron and thermal dust emission constitutes a major tool in the study of the Galactic magnetic field (GMF) and in constraining its strength and geometry for the regular ...and turbulent components. In this paper, we review the modeling of these two components of the polarized Galactic emission and present our strategy for optimally exploiting the currently existing data sets. We investigate a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method to constrain the model parameter space through maximum-likelihood analysis, focusing mainly on dust polarized emission. Relying on simulations, we demonstrate that our methodology can be used to constrain the regular GMF geometry. Fitting for the reduced Stokes parameters, this reconstruction is only marginally dependent of the accuracy of the reconstruction of the Galactic dust grain density distribution. However, the reconstruction degrades, apart from the pitch angle, when including a turbulent component on the order of the regular one as suggested by current observational constraints. Finally, we applied this methodology to a set of
Planck
polarization maps at 353 GHz to obtain the first MCMC based constrains on the large-scale regular-component of the GMF from the polarized diffuse Galactic thermal dust emission. By testing various models of the dust density distribution and of the GMF geometry, we prove that it is possible to infer the large-scale geometrical properties of the GMF. We obtain coherent three-dimensional views of the GMF, from which we infer a mean pitch angle of 27 degrees with 14% scatter, which is in agreement with results obtained in the literature from synchrotron emission.
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