ABSTRACT
Map-making is an important step for the data analysis of cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. It consists of converting the data, which are typically a long, complex, and noisy ...collection of measurements, into a map, which is an image of the observed sky. We present in this paper a new map-making code named picasso (Polarization and Intensity CArtographer for Scanned Sky Observations), which was implemented to construct intensity and polarization maps from the Multi Frequency Instrument (MFI) of the QUIJOTE (Q-U-I Joint TEnerife) CMB polarization experiment. picasso is based on the destriping algorithm, and is suited to address specific issues of ground-based microwave observations, with a technique that allows the fit of a template function in the time domain, during the map-making step. This paper describes the picasso code, validating it with simulations and assessing its performance. For this purpose, we produced realistic simulations of the QUIJOTE-MFI survey of the northern sky (approximately ∼20 000 deg2), and analysed the reconstructed maps with picasso, using real and harmonic space statistics. We show that, for this sky area, picasso is able to reconstruct, with high fidelity, the injected signal, recovering all the scales with ℓ > 10 in TT, EE, and BB. The signal error is better than 0.001 per cent at 20 < ℓ < 200. Finally, we validated some of the methods that will be applied to the real wide-survey data, like the detection of the CMB anisotropies via cross-correlation analyses. Despite that the implementation of picasso is specific for QUIJOTE-MFI data, it could be adapted to other experiments.
ABSTRACT
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the Local Group galaxy that is most similar to the Milky Way (MW). The similarities between the two galaxies make M31 useful for studying integrated properties ...common to spiral galaxies. We use the data from the recent QUIJOTE-MFI Wide Survey, together with new raster observations focused on M31, to study its integrated emission. The addition of raster data improves the sensitivity of QUIJOTE-MFI maps by almost a factor 3. Our main interest is to confirm if anomalous microwave emission (AME) is present in M31, as previous studies have suggested. To do so, we built the integrated spectral energy distribution of M31 between 0.408 and 3000 GHz. We then performed a component separation analysis taking into account synchrotron, free–free, AME, and thermal dust components. AME in M31 is modelled as a log-normal distribution with maximum amplitude, AAME, equal to 1.03 ± 0.32 Jy. It peaks at ${\nu _{\rm AME}}=17.2\pm 3.2{\rm \, GHz}{}$ with a width of WAME = 0.58 ± 0.16. Both the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria find the model without AME to be less than 1 per cent as probable as the one taking AME into consideration. We find that the AME emissivity per 100 $\mu$m intensity in M31 is ${\epsilon _{\rm AME}^{\rm 28.4\, GHz}}=9.6\pm 3.1\,\mu$K MJy−1 sr, similar to that of the MW. We also provide the first upper limits for the AME polarization fraction in an extragalactic object. M31 remains the only galaxy where an AME measurement has been made of its integrated spectrum.
The redshift dependence of the cosmic microwave background temperature is one of the key cosmological observables. In the standard cosmological model, one has T(z)=T sub(0)(1+z), where T sub(0) is ...the present-day temperature. Deviations from this behavior would imply the presence of new physics. Here we discuss how the combination of all currently available direct and indirect measurements of T(z) constrains the common phenomenological parametrization T(z)=T sub(0)(1+z) super(1- beta ) and obtain the first subpercent constraint on the temperature growth index 1? beta . Specifically, we find beta =(7.6+ or -8.0)x10 super(-3) at the 68.3% confidence level.
ABSTRACT
We derive linearly polarized astrophysical component maps in the Northern Sky from the QUIJOTE-MFI data at 11 and 13 GHz in combination with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe K and Ka ...bands (23 and 33 GHz) and all Planck polarized channels (30–353 GHz), using the parametric component separation method B-SeCRET. The addition of QUIJOTE-MFI data significantly improves the parameter estimation of the low-frequency foregrounds, especially the estimation of the synchrotron spectral index, βs. We present the first detailed βs map of the Northern Celestial Hemisphere at a smoothing scale of 2°. We find statistically significant spatial variability across the sky. We obtain an average value of −3.08 and a dispersion of 0.13, considering only pixels with reliable goodness of fit. The power-law model of the synchrotron emission provides a good fit to the data outside the Galactic plane but fails to track the complexity within this region. Moreover, when we assume a synchrotron model with uniform curvature, cs, we find a value of cs = −0.0797 ± 0.0012. However, there is insufficient statistical significance to determine which model is favoured, either the power law or the power law with uniform curvature. Furthermore, we estimate the thermal dust spectral parameters in polarization. Our cosmic microwave background, synchrotron, and thermal dust maps are highly correlated with the corresponding products of the PR4 Planck release, although some large-scale differences are observed in the synchrotron emission. Finally, we find that the βs estimation in the high signal-to-noise synchrotron emission areas is prior-independent, while, outside these regions, the prior governs the βs estimation.
ABSTRACT
Anomalous microwave emission (AME) is an important emission component between 10 and 60 GHz that is not yet fully understood. It seems to be ubiquitous in our Galaxy and is observed at a ...broad range of angular scales. Here we use the new QUIJOTE-MFI wide survey data at 11, 13, 17, and 19 GHz to constrain the AME in the Galactic plane (|b| < 10°) on degree scales. We built the spectral energy distribution between 0.408 and 3000 GHz for each of the 5309 0.9° pixels in the Galactic plane, and fitted a parametric model by considering five emission components: synchrotron, free–free, AME, thermal dust and CMB anisotropies. We show that not including QUIJOTE-MFI data points leads to the underestimation (up to 50 per cent) of the AME signal in favour of free–free emission. The parameters describing these components are then intercompared, looking for relations that help to understand AME physical processes. We find median values for the AME width, WAME, and for its peak frequency, νAME, respectively of $0.560^{+0.059}_{-0.050}$ and $20.7^{+2.0}_{-1.9}$ GHz, slightly in tension with current theoretical models. We find spatial variations throughout the Galactic plane for νAME, but only with reduced statistical significance. We report correlations of AME parameters with certain ISM properties, such as that between the AME emissivity (which shows variations with the Galactic longitude) and the interstellar radiation field, and that between the AME peak frequency and dust temperature. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results on the possible molecules responsible for AME.
ABSTRACT
We present new intensity and polarization maps obtained with the QUIJOTE experiment towards the Galactic regions W49, W51 and IC443, covering the frequency range from 10 to 20 GHz at $\sim ...1\, \text{deg}$ angular resolution, with a sensitivity in the range 35–79 $\mu \text{K}\, \text{beam}^{-1}$ for total intensity and 13–23 $\mu \text{K}\, \text{beam}^{-1}$ for polarization. For each region, we combine QUIJOTE maps with ancillary data at frequencies ranging from 0.4 to 3000 GHz, reconstruct the spectral energy distribution and model it with a combination of known foregrounds. We detect anomalous microwave emission (AME) in total intensity towards W49 at 4.7σ and W51 at 4.0σ with peak frequencies $\nu _{\rm AME}=(20.0\pm 1.4)\, \text{GHz}$ and $\nu _{\rm AME}=(17.7\pm 3.6)\, \text{GHz}$, respectively; this is the first detection of AME towards W51. The contamination from ultracompact H ii regions to the residual AME flux density is estimated at 10 per cent in W49 and 5 per cent in W51, and does not rule out the AME detection. The polarized SEDs reveal a synchrotron contribution with spectral indices αs = −0.67 ± 0.10 in W49 and αs = −0.51 ± 0.07 in W51, ascribed to the diffuse Galactic emission and to the local supernova remnant, respectively. Towards IC443 in total intensity we measure a broken power-law synchrotron spectrum with cut-off frequency $\nu _{\rm 0,s}=(114\pm 73)\, \text{GHz}$, in agreement with previous studies; our analysis, however, rules out any AME contribution which had been previously claimed towards IC443. No evidence of polarized AME emission is detected in this study.
ABSTRACT
The Haze is an excess of microwave intensity emission surrounding the Galactic Centre. It is spatially correlated with the γ-ray Fermi bubbles, and with the S-PASS radio polarization plumes, ...suggesting a possible common provenance. The models proposed to explain the origin of the Haze, including energetic events at the Galactic Centre and dark matter decay in the Galactic halo, do not yet provide a clear physical interpretation. In this paper, we present a reanalysis of the Haze including new observations from the Multi-Frequency Instrument (MFI) of the Q-U-I Joint TEnerife (QUIJOTE) experiment, at 11 and 13 GHz. We analyse the Haze in intensity and polarization, characterizing its spectrum. We detect an excess of diffuse intensity signal ascribed to the Haze. The spectrum at frequencies 11 GHz $\, \le \nu \le \,$ 70 GHz is a power law with spectral index βH = −2.79 ± 0.08, which is flatter than the Galactic synchrotron in the same region (βS = −2.98 ± 0.04), but steeper than that obtained from previous works (βH ∼ −2.5 at 23 GHz $\, \le \, \nu \le \,$ 70 GHz). We also observe an excess of polarized signal in the QUIJOTE-MFI maps in the Haze area. This is a first hint detection of polarized Haze, or a consequence of curvature of the synchrotron spectrum in that area. Finally, we show that the spectrum of polarized structures associated with Galactic Centre activity is steep at low frequencies (β ∼ −3.2 at 2.3 GHz ≤ ν ≤ 23 GHz), and becomes flatter above 11 GHz.
ABSTRACT
The QUIJOTE-MFI Northern Hemisphere Wide Survey has provided maps of the sky above declinations −30° at 11, 13, 17, and 19 GHz. These data are combined with ancillary data to produce ...Spectral Energy Distributions in intensity in the frequency range 0.4–3 000 GHz on a sample of 52 candidate compact sources harbouring anomalous microwave emission (AME). We apply a component separation analysis at 1° scale on the full sample from which we identify 44 sources with high AME significance. We explore correlations between different fitted parameters on this last sample. QUIJOTE-MFI data contribute to notably improve the characterization of the AME spectrum, and its separation from the other components. In particular, ignoring the 10–20 GHz data produces on average an underestimation of the AME amplitude, and an overestimation of the free–free component. We find an average AME peak frequency of 23.6 ± 3.6 GHz, about 4 GHz lower than the value reported in previous studies. The strongest correlation is found between the peak flux density of the thermal dust and of the AME component. A mild correlation is found between the AME emissivity (AAME/τ250) and the interstellar radiation field. On the other hand no correlation is found between the AME emissivity and the free–free radiation Emission Measure. Our statistical results suggest that the interstellar radiation field could still be the main driver of the intensity of the AME as regards spinning dust excitation mechanisms. On the other hand, it is not clear whether spinning dust would be most likely associated with cold phases of the interstellar medium rather than with hot phases dominated by free–free radiation.
We have identified new clusters and characterized previously unknown
Planck
Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) sources from the first
Planck
catalogue of SZ sources (PSZ1). The results presented here correspond ...to an optical follow-up observational programme developed during approximately one year (2014) at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, using the 2.5 m
Isaac Newton
telescope, the 3.5 m Telescopio Nazionale
Galileo
, the 4.2 m
William Herschel
telescope and the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias. We have characterized 115 new PSZ1 sources using deep optical imaging and spectroscopy. We adopted robust criteria in order to consolidate the SZ counterparts by analysing the optical richness, the 2D galaxy distribution, and velocity dispersions of clusters. Confirmed counterparts are considered to be validated if they are rich structures, well aligned with the
Planck
PSZ1 coordinate and show relatively high velocity dispersion. Following this classification, we confirm 53 clusters, which means that 46% of this PSZ1 subsample has been validated and characterized with this technique. Sixty-two SZ sources (54% of this PSZ1 subset) remain unconfirmed. In addition, we find that the fraction of unconfirmed clusters close to the galactic plane (at |
b
| < 25°) is greater than that at higher galactic latitudes (|
b
| > 25°), which indicates contamination produced by radio emission of galactic dust and gas clouds on these SZ detections. In fact, in the majority of the cases, we detect important galactic cirrus in the optical images, mainly in the SZ target located at low galactic latitudes, which supports this hypothesis.
Abstract
We compute the expected sensitivity on measurements of optical depth to reionization for a ground-based experiment at Teide Observatory. We simulate polarized partial sky maps for the ...GroundBIRD experiment at the frequencies 145 and 220 GHz. We perform fits for the simulated maps with our pixel-based likelihood to extract the optical depth to reionization. The noise levels of polarization maps are estimated as 110
μ
K
arcmin
and 780
μ
K
arcmin
for 145 and 220 GHz, respectively, by assuming a three-year observing campaign and sky coverages of 0.537 for 145 GHz and 0.462 for 220 GHz. Our sensitivities for the optical depth to reionization are found to be
σ
τ
= 0.030 with the simulated GroundBIRD maps, and
σ
τ
= 0.012 by combining with the simulated QUIJOTE maps at 11, 13, 17, 19, 30, and 40 GHz.
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