We propose a novel estimator of the polarization amplitude from a single measurement of its normally distributed (Q, U) Stokes components. Based on the properties of the Rice distribution and dubbed ...modified asymptotic, it meets several desirable criteria: (i) its values lie in the whole positive region; (ii) its distribution is continuous; (iii) it transforms smoothly with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) from a Rayleigh-like shape to a Gaussian one; (iv) it is unbiased and reaches its components' variance as soon as the SNR exceeds 2; and (v) it is analytic and can therefore be used on large data sets. We also revisit the construction of its associated confidence intervals and show how the Feldman-Cousins prescription efficiently solves the issue of classical intervals lying entirely in the unphysical negative domain. Such intervals can be used to identify statistically significant polarized regions and conversely build masks for polarization data. We then consider the case of a general Q, U covariance matrix and perform a generalization of the estimator that preserves its asymptotic properties. We show that its bias does not depend on the true polarization angle, and provide an analytic estimate of its variance. The estimator value, together with its variance, provide a powerful point estimate of the true polarization amplitude that follows an unbiased Gaussian distribution for an SNR as low as 2. These results can be applied to the much more general case of transforming any normally distributed random variable from Cartesian to polar coordinates.
The modeling and removal of foregrounds poses a major challenge to searches for signals from inflation using the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In particular, the modeling of CMB foregrounds ...including various spatial averaging effects introduces multiple complications that will have to be accounted for in upcoming analyses. In this work, we introduce the generalization of the intensity moment expansion to the spin-2 field of linear polarization: the spin-moment expansion. Within this framework, moments become spin-2 objects that are directly related to the underlying spectral parameter and polarization angle distribution functions. In obtaining the required expressions for the polarization modeling, we highlight the similarities and differences with the intensity moment methods. A spinor rotation in the complex plane with frequency naturally arises from the first order moment when the signal contains both spectral parameter and polarization angle variations. Additional dependencies are introduced at higher order, and we demonstrate how these can be accounted with several illustrative examples. Our new modeling of the polarized signals reveals to be a powerful tool to model the frequency dependence of the polarization angle. As such, it can be immediately applied to numerous astrophysical situations.
The magnetic field in the local interstellar medium does not follow the large-scale Galactic magnetic field. The local magnetic field has probably been distorted by the Local Bubble, a cavity of hot ...ionized gas extending all around the Sun and surrounded by a shell of cold neutral gas and dust. However, so far no conclusive association between the local magnetic field and the Local Bubble has been established. Here we develop an analytical model for the magnetic field in the shell of the Local Bubble, which we represent as an inclined spheroid, off-centred from the Sun. We fit the model to Planck dust polarized emission observations within 30° of the Galactic poles. We find a solution that is consistent with a highly deformed magnetic field, with significantly different directions towards the north and south Galactic poles. This work sets a methodological framework for modelling the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the magnetic field in the local interstellar medium, which is a most awaited input for large-scale Galactic magnetic field models.
Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis is essential for proper cellular functioning. Mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA） depletion and the resulting mitochondrial malfunction have been implicated in cancer, ...neurodegeneration, diabetes, aging, and many other human diseases. Although it is known that the dynamics of the mammalian mitochondrial genome are not linked with that of the nuclear genome, very little is known about the mechanism of mtDNA propagation. Nevertheless, our understanding of the mode of mtDNA replication has ad- vanced in recent years, though not without some controversies. This review summarizes our current knowledge of mtDNA copy number control in mammalian cells, while focusing on both mtDNA replication and turnover. Although mtDNA copy number is seemingly in excess, we reason that mtDNA copy number control is an important aspect of mitochondrial genetics and biogenesis and is essential for normal cellular function.
The Sun is embedded in the so-called Local Bubble (LB) – a cavity of hot plasma created by supernova explosions and surrounded by a shell of cold, dusty gas. Knowing the local distortion of the ...Galactic magnetic field associated with the LB is critical for the modeling of interstellar polarization data at high Galactic latitudes. In this his paper, we relate the structure of the Galactic magnetic field on the LB scale to three-dimensional (3D) maps of the local interstellar medium (ISM). First, we extracted the geometry of the LB shell, its inner surface, in particular from 3D dust extinction maps of the local ISM. We expanded the shell inner surface in spherical harmonics, up to a variable maximum multipole degree, which enabled us to control the level of complexity for the modeled surface. Next, we applied an analytical model for the ordered magnetic field in the shell to the modeled shell surface. This magnetic field model was successfully fitted to the
Planck
353 GHz dust polarized emission maps over the Galactic polar caps. For each polar cap, the direction of the mean magnetic field derived from dust polarization (together with the prior that the field points toward longitude 90° ± 90°) is found to be consistent with the Faraday spectra of the nearby diffuse synchrotron emission. Our work presents a new approach to modeling the local structure of the Galactic magnetic field. We expect our methodology and our results to be useful both in modeling the local ISM as traced by its different components and in modeling the dust polarized emission, which is a long-awaited input for studies of the polarized foregrounds for cosmic microwave background.
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 characterization of the dust polarization foreground to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a necessary step toward the detection of the B-mode signal associated with primordial ...gravitational waves. We present a method to simulate maps of polarized dust emission on the sphere that is similar to the approach used for CMB anisotropies. This method builds on the understanding of Galactic polarization stemming from the analysis of Planck data. It relates the dust polarization sky to the structure of the Galactic magnetic field and its coupling with interstellar matter and turbulence. The Galactic magnetic field is modeled as a superposition of a mean uniform field and a Gaussian random (turbulent) component with a power-law power spectrum of exponent αM. The integration along the line of sight carried out to compute Stokes maps is approximated by a sum over a small number of emitting layers with different realizations of the random component of the magnetic field. The model parameters are constrained to fit the power spectra of dust polarization EE, BB, and TE measured using Planck data. We find that the slopes of the E and B power spectra of dust polarization are matched for αM = −2.5, an exponent close to that measured for total dust intensity but larger than the Kolmogorov exponent − 11/3. The model allows us to compute multiple realizations of the Stokes Q and U maps for different realizations of the random component of the magnetic field, and to quantify the variance of dust polarization spectra for any given sky area outside of the Galactic plane. The simulations reproduce the scaling relation between the dust polarization power and the mean total dust intensity including the observed dispersion around the mean relation. We also propose a method to carry out multifrequency simulations, including the decorrelation measured recently by Planck, using a given covariance matrix of the polarization maps. These simulations are well suited to optimize component separation methods and to quantify the confidence with which the dust and CMB B-modes can be separated in present and future experiments. We also provide an astrophysical perspective on our phenomenological modeling of the dust polarization spectra.
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
Planck
satellite has identified more than 2000 protocluster candidates with extreme star formation rates (SFRs). Here, we present the spectroscopic identification of a
Planck
-selected ...protocluster located in the Cosmos field, PHz G237.01+42.50. PHz G237.01+42.50 contains a galaxy overdensity of 31 spectroscopically identified galaxies at
z
≃ 2.16 (significant at 5.4
σ
) in a 10′ × 11′ region. The overdensity contains two substructures or protoclusters at ⟨
z
⟩ ≃ 2.16 and 2.195 with estimated halo masses at
z
= 0 of ∼5–6 × 10
14
M
⊙
, roughly consistent with Virgo-type clusters. The overdensity total SFR, ∼4000
M
⊙
yr
−1
, is higher than predicted by simulations but much smaller than the SFR derived from the
Planck
data (i.e., 10 173
M
⊙
yr
−1
). The analysis of the
Herschel
data in the field, in combination with the available ancillary data, shows that such a difference is due to an effect of source alignment along the line of sight that produces a 5
σ
overdensity of red
Herschel
sources in the field. We analyze the members’ ultraviolet (UV) spectra and UV-far-infrared spectral energy distributions to derive their SFR, stellar mass, and metallicity. Galaxy members include blue star-forming galaxies and Active galactic nuclei (AGN) with SFRs and stellar masses consistent with the main sequence. Active galactic nuclei, identified through optical spectroscopy or X-ray data, represent a significant fraction (20 ± 10%) of all members of the protocluster at
z
= 2.16, and they are powerful enough to produce radiative feedback. The core of this protocluster, besides being denser, includes members that are, on average, more massive and star-forming and contains a larger fraction of AGN and
Herschel
-detected galaxies than the full sample, suggesting an environmental effect on galaxy growth. A comparison between PHz G237.01+42.50 and other protoclusters in the literature at similar redshifts reveals some common traits and differences that reflect both observational biases and a diversity in intrinsic properties that is not yet fully understood.
Planck 2015 results Ade, P A R; Aghanim, N; Arnaud, M ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
10/2016, Letnik:
594
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present the implications for cosmic inflation of the Planck measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies in both temperature and polarization based on the full Planck survey, ...which includes more than twice the integration time of the nominal survey used for the 2013 release papers. The Planck full mission temperature data and a first release of polarization data on large angular scales measure the spectral index of curvature perturbations to be n sub(s)= 0.968 + or - 0.006 and tightly constrain its scale dependence to dn sub(s)/ dlnk= -0.003 + or - 0.007 when combined with the Planck lensing likelihood. When the Planck high-scriptl polarization data are included, the results are consistent and uncertainties are further reduced. The upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio is r sub(0.002)< 0.11 (95% CL). This upper limit is consistent with the B-mode polarization constraint r< 0.12 (95% CL) obtained from a joint analysis of the BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck data. These results imply that V(phi) proportional = to phi super(2) and natural inflation are now disfavoured compared to models predicting a smaller tensor-to-scalar ratio, such as R super(2) inflation. We search for several physically motivated deviations from a simple power-law spectrum of curvature perturbations, including those motivated by a reconstruction of the inflaton potential not relying on the slow-roll approximation. We find that such models are not preferred, either according to a Bayesian model comparison or according to a frequentist simulation-based analysis. Three independent methods reconstructing the primordial power spectrum consistently recover a featureless and smooth scriptP sub()R super(()k)over the range of scales 0.008 Mpc super(-1)< or = k< or = 0.1 Mpc super(-1). At large scales, each method finds deviations from a power law, connected to a deficit at multipoles scriptlapproximate 20-40 in the temperature power spectrum, but at an uncompelling statistical significance owing to the large cosmic variance present at these multipoles. By combining power spectrum and non-Gaussianity bounds, we constrain models with generalized Lagrangians, including Galileon models and axion monodromy models. The Planck data are consistent with adiabatic primordial perturbations, and the estimated values for the parameters of the base Lambda cold dark matter (LambdaCDM) model are not significantly altered when more general initial conditions are admitted. In correlated mixed adiabatic and isocurvature models, the 95% CL upper bound for the non-adiabatic contribution to the observed CMB temperature variance is alpha sub(non - adi) < 1.9%, 4.0%, and 2.9% for CDM, neutrino density, and neutrino velocity isocurvature modes, respectively. We have tested inflationary models producing an anisotropic modulation of the primordial curvature power spectrum findingthat the dipolar modulation in the CMB temperature field induced by a CDM isocurvature perturbation is not preferred at a statistically significant level. We also establish tight constraints on a possible quadrupolar modulation of the curvature perturbation. These results are consistent with the Planck 2013 analysis based on the nominal mission data and further constrain slow-roll single-field inflationary models, as expected from the increased precision of Planck data using the full set of observations.
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