The scalar perturbation spectral index n_s: WMAP sensitivity to unresolved point sources

Precision measurement of the scalar perturbation spectral index, n_s, from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe temperature angular power spectrum requires the subtraction of unresolved point source power. Here we reconsider this issue. First, we note a peculiarity in the WMAP temperature likelihood's response to the source correction: Cosmological parameters do not respond to increased source errors. An alternative and more direct method for treating this error term acts more sensibly, and also shifts n_s by ~0.3 sigma closer to unity. Second, we re-examine the source fit used to correct the power spectrum. This fit depends strongly on the galactic cut and the weighting of the map, indicating that either the source population or masking procedure is not isotropic. Jackknife tests appear inconsistent, causing us to assign large uncertainties to account for possible systematics. Third, we note that the WMAP team's spectrum was computed with two different weighting schemes: uniform weights transition to inverse noise variance weights at l = 500. The fit depends on such weighting schemes, so different corrections apply to each multipole range. For the Kp2 mask used in cosmological analysis, we prefer source corrections A = 0.012 +/- 0.005 muK^2 for uniform weighting and A = 0.015 +/- 0.005 muK^2 for N_obs weighting. Correcting WMAP's spectrum correspondingly, we compute cosmological parameters with our alternative likelihood, finding n_s = 0.970 +/- 0.017 and sigma_8 = 0.778 +/- 0.045 . This n_s is only 1.8 sigma from unity, compared to the ~2.6 sigma WMAP 3-year result. Finally, an anomalous feature in the source spectrum at l<200 remains, most strongly associated with W-band.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Ap

Power Spectrum Analysis of Far-IR Background Fluctuations in 160 Micron Maps From the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer

We describe data reduction and analysis of fluctuations in the cosmic far-IR background (CFIB) in observations with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) instrument 160 micron detectors. We analyzed observations of an 8.5 square degree region in the Lockman Hole, part of the largest low-cirrus mapping observation with this instrument. We measured the power spectrum of the CFIB in these observations by fitting a power law to the IR cirrus component, the dominant foreground contaminant, and subtracting this cirrus signal. The CFIB power spectrum in the range 0.2 arc min^{-1} <k< 0.5 arc min^{-1} is consistent with previous measurements of a relatively flat component. However, we find a large power excess at low k, which falls steeply to the flat component in the range 0.03 arc min^{-1} <k< 0.1 arc min^{-1}. This low-k power spectrum excess is consistent with predictions of a source clustering "signature". This is the first report of such a detection in the far-IR.Comment: This is the version of the paper accepted by A&A, which includes various changes and new material. The superior-quality PDF with integrated figures may be downloaded at http://www-astro.lbl.gov/~bruce/spitzerpaper1/cfibaa_pub.pdf 15 pages, figures integrated with text. This paper supersedes astro-ph/050416

Removing beam asymmetry bias in precision CMB temperature and polarisation experiments

Asymmetric beams can create significant bias in estimates of the power spectra from CMB experiments. With the temperature power spectrum many orders of magnitude stronger than the B-mode power spectrum any systematic error that couples the two must be carefully controlled and/or removed. Here, we derive unbiased estimators for the CMB temperature and polarisation power spectra taking into account general beams and general scan strategies. A simple consequence of asymmetric beams is that, even with an ideal scan strategy where every sky pixel is seen at every orientation, there will be residual coupling from temperature power to B-mode power if the orientation of the beam asymmetry is not aligned with the orientation of the co-polarisation. We test our correction algorithm on simulations of two temperature-only experiments and demonstrate that it is unbiased. The simulated experiments use realistic scan strategies, noise levels and highly asymmetric beams. We also develop a map-making algorithm that is capable of removing beam asymmetry bias at the map level. We demonstrate its implementation using simulations and show that it is capable of accurately correcting both temperature and polarisation maps for all of the effects of beam asymmetry including the effects of temperature to polarisation leakage.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Removing beam asymmetry bias in precision CMB temperature and polarisation experiments

Asymmetric beams can create significant bias in estimates of the power spectra from CMB experiments. With the temperature power spectrum many orders of magnitude stronger than the B-mode power spectrum any systematic error that couples the two must be carefully controlled and/or removed. Here, we derive unbiased estimators for the CMB temperature and polarisation power spectra taking into account general beams and general scan strategies. A simple consequence of asymmetric beams is that, even with an ideal scan strategy where every sky pixel is seen at every orientation, there will be residual coupling from temperature power to B-mode power if the orientation of the beam asymmetry is not aligned with the orientation of the co-polarisation. We test our correction algorithm on simulations of two temperature-only experiments and demonstrate that it is unbiased. The simulated experiments use realistic scan strategies, noise levels and highly asymmetric beams. We also develop a map-making algorithm that is capable of removing beam asymmetry bias at the map level. We demonstrate its implementation using simulations and show that it is capable of accurately correcting both temperature and polarisation maps for all of the effects of beam asymmetry including the effects of temperature to polarisation leakage.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Quasar Tomography: Unification of Echo Mapping and Photoionisation Models

Reverberation mapping uses time-delayed variations in photoionised emission lines to map the geometry and kinematics of emission-line gas in active galactic nuclei. In previous work, the light travel time delay tau=R(1+cos(theta))/c and Doppler shift v give a 2-d map Psi(tau,v) for each emission line. Here we combine the velocity-delay information with photoionisation physics in a maximum entropy fit to the full reverberating spectrum F_lam(lam,t) to recover a 5-d map of the differential covering fraction f(R,theta,n,N,v), with n and N the density and column density of the gas clouds. We test the method for a variety of geometries (shells, rings, disks, clouds, jets) by recovering a 3-d map f(R,theta,n) from reverberations in 7 uv emission lines. The best test recovers a hollow shell geometry, defining R to 0.15 dex, n to 0.3 dex, and ionisation parameter U ~ 1/(n R^2) to 0.1 dex. The results are sensitive to the adopted distance and luminosity, suggesting that these parameters may be measurable as well.Comment: Accepted 4 Sep 2002 for publication in MNRA

Physical Conditions in the Ionized Gas of 30 Doradus

We present a mid-infrared spectroscopic data cube of the central part of 30 Doradus, observed with Spitzer's IRS and MIPS/SED mode. Aromatic dust emission features and emission lines from molecular and atomic hydrogen are detected but not particularly strong. The dominant spectral features are emission lines from moderately ionized species of argon, neon, and sulphur, which are used to determine the physical conditions in the ionized gas. The ionized gas excitation shows strong variations on parsec scales, some of which can plausibly be associated with individual hot stars. We fit the ionic line strengths with photoionization and shock models, and find that photoionization dominates in the region. The ionization parameter U traces the rim of the central bubble, as well as highlighting isolated sources of ionization, and at least one quiescent clump. The hardness of the ionizing radiation field T_rad reveals several "hot spots" that are either the result of individual very hot stars or trace the propagation of the diffuse ionizing field through the surrounding neutral cloud. Consistent with other measurements of giant molecular hydrogen regions, log(U) ranges between -3 and -0.75, and T_rad between 30000 and 85000K.Comment: 32 pages, 26 figures, ApJ accepted. A version with high-resolution images can be found at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~ged3j/indebetouw20090125.pd

Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Data Processing, Sky Maps, and Basic Results

We present new full-sky temperature and polarization maps in five frequency bands from 23 to 94 GHz, based on data from the first five years of the WMAP sky survey. The five-year maps incorporate several improvements in data processing made possible by the additional years of data and by a more complete analysis of the instrument calibration and in-flight beam response. We present several new tests for systematic errors in the polarization data and conclude that Ka band data (33 GHz) is suitable for use in cosmological analysis, after foreground cleaning. This significantly reduces the overall polarization uncertainty. With the 5 year WMAP data, we detect no convincing deviations from the minimal 6-parameter LCDM model: a flat universe dominated by a cosmological constant, with adiabatic and nearly scale-invariant Gaussian fluctuations. Using WMAP data combined with measurements of Type Ia supernovae and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, we find (68% CL uncertainties): Omega_bh^2 = 0.02267 \pm 0.00059, Omega_ch^2 = 0.1131 \pm 0.0034, Omega_Lambda = 0.726 \pm 0.015, n_s = 0.960 \pm 0.013, tau = 0.084 \pm 0.016, and Delta_R^2 = (2.445 \pm 0.096) x 10^-9. From these we derive: sigma_8 = 0.812 \pm 0.026, H_0 = 70.5 \pm 1.3 km/s/Mpc, z_{reion} = 10.9 \pm 1.4, and t_0 = 13.72 \pm 0.12 Gyr. The new limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio is r < 0.22 (95% CL). We obtain tight, simultaneous limits on the (constant) dark energy equation of state and spatial curvature: -0.14 < 1+w < 0.12 and -0.0179 < Omega_k < 0.0081 (both 95% CL). The number of relativistic degrees of freedom (e.g. neutrinos) is found to be N_{eff} = 4.4 \pm 1.5, consistent with the standard value of 3.04. Models with N_{eff} = 0 are disfavored at >99.5% confidence.Comment: 46 pages, 13 figures, and 7 tables. Version accepted for publication, ApJS, Feb-2009. Includes 5-year dipole results and additional references. Also available at http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/map/dr3/map_bibliography.cf

Impact of modulation on CMB B-mode polarization experiments

We investigate the impact of both slow and fast polarization modulation strategies on the science return of upcoming ground-based experiments aimed at measuring the B-mode polarization of the CMB. Using simulations of the Clover experiment, we compare the ability of modulated and un-modulated observations to recover the signature of gravitational waves in the polarized CMB sky in the presence of a number of anticipated systematic effects. The general expectations that fast modulation is helpful in mitigating low-frequency detector noise, and that the additional redundancy in the projection of the instrument's polarization sensitivity directions onto the sky when modulating reduces the impact of instrumental polarization, are borne out by our simulations. Neither low-frequency polarized atmospheric fluctuations nor systematic errors in the polarization sensitivity directions are mitigated by modulation. Additionally, we find no significant reduction in the effect of pointing errors by modulation. For a Clover-like experiment, pointing jitter should be negligible but any systematic mis-calibration of the polarization coordinate reference system results in significant E-B mixing on all angular scales and will require careful control. We also stress the importance of combining data from multiple detectors in order to remove the effects of common-mode systematics (such as 1/f atmospheric noise) on the measured polarization signal. Finally we compare the performance of our simulated experiment with the predicted performance from a Fisher analysis. We find good agreement between the Fisher predictions and the simulations except for the very largest scales where the power spectrum estimator we have used introduces additional variance to the B-mode signal recovered from our simulations.Comment: Replaced with version accepted by MNRAS. Analysis of half-wave plate systematic (differential transmittance) adde