644 research outputs found
Elliptic CMB Sky
The ellipticity of the anisotropy spots of the Cosmic Microwave Background
measured by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has been studied.
We find an average ellipticity of about 2, confirming with a far larger
statistics similar results found first for the COBE-DMR CMB maps, and then for
the BOOMERanG CMB maps. There are no preferred directions for the obliquity of
the anisotropy spots. The average ellipticity is independent of temperature
threshold and is present on scales both smaller and larger than the horizon at
the last scattering. The measured ellipticity characteristics are consistent
with being the effect of geodesics mixing occurring in an hyperbolic Universe,
and can mark the emergence of CMB ellipticity as a new observable constant
describing the Universe. There is no way of simulating this effect. Therefore
we cannot exclude that the observed behavior of the measured ellipticity can
result from a trivial topology in the popular flat -CDM model, or from
a non-trivial topology.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, the version to appear in Mod.Phys.Lett.
Improved constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity for the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5-yr data
We present new constraints on the non-linear coupling parameter fnl with the
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data. We use an updated method
based on the spherical Mexican hat wavelet (SMHW) which provides improved
constraints on the fnl parameter. This paper is a continuation of a previous
work by Curto et al. where several third order statistics based on the SMHW
were considered. In this paper, we use all the possible third order statistics
computed from the wavelet coefficient maps evaluated at 12 angular scales. The
scales are logarithmically distributed from 6.9 arcmin to 500 arcmin. Our
analysis indicates that fnl is constrained to -18 < fnl < +80 at 95% confidence
level (CL) for the combined V+W WMAP map. This value has been corrected by the
presence of undetected point sources, which adds a positive contribution of
Delta_fnl = 6 +- 5. Our result excludes at ~99% CL the best-fitting value
fnl=87 reported by Yadav & Wandelt. We have also constrained fnl for the Q, V
and W frequency bands separately, finding compatibility with zero at 95 % CL
for the Q and V bands but not for the W band. We have performed some further
tests to understand the cause of this deviation which indicate that systematics
associated to the W radiometers could be responsible for this result. Finally
we have performed a Galactic North-South analysis for fnl. We have not found
any asymmetry, i.e. the best-fitting fnl for the northern pixels is compatible
with the best-fitting fnl for the southern pixels.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap
Severe Hemoperitoneum after Patient Self-Induced Fecal Evacuation
An increasing incidence of rectal injuries following patient self-induced harmful acts, aimed to sexual or laxatives porpouses, is a fact reported in literature (El-Ashaal et al., 2008). We herein report a case of severe hemoperitoneum related to a middle and upper rectal third seromuscolar tear caused by a self-induced fecal evacuation by means of an arrow with a covered cork tip. An urgent intestinal diversion by means of a Hartmann's operation was performed. The clinical case is presented in relation to the literature debate, regarding the issue of primary repair or resection and anastomosis versus fecal diversion for penetrating rectal injuries (Fabian, 2002; Cleary et al., 2006; Office of the Surgeon General, 1943; Busic et al., 2002). In conclusion, the importance of avoiding an anastomotic breakdown in a patient undergoing a hemorrhagic shock is highlighted
High Order Correction Terms for The Peak-Peak Correlation Function in Nearly-Gaussian Models
One possible way to investigate the nature of the primordial power spectrum
fluctuations is by investigating the statistical properties of the local
maximum in the density fluctuation fields. In this work we present a study of
the mean correlation function, , and the correlation function for high
amplitude fluctuations (the peak-peak correlation) in a slighlty non-Gaussian
context. From the definition of the correlation excess, we compute the Gaussian
two-point correlation function and, using an expansion in Generalized Hermite
polynomials, we estimate the correlation of high density peaks in a
non-Gaussian field with generic distribution and power spectrum. We also apply
the results obtained to a scale-mixed distribution model, which correspond to a
nearly Gaussian model. The results reveal that, even for a small deviation from
Gaussianity, we can expect high density peaks to be much more correlated than
in a Gaussian field with the same power spectrum. In addition, the calculations
reveal how the amplitude of the peaks in the fluctuations field is related to
the existing correlations. Our results may be used as an additional tool to
investigate the behavior of the N-point correlation function, to understand how
non-Gaussian correlations affect the peak-peak statistics and extract more
information about the statistics of the density field.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
WMAP confirming the ellipticity in BOOMERanG and COBE CMB maps
The recent study of BOOMERanG 150 GHz Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
radiation maps have detected ellipticity of the temperature anisotropy spots
independent on the temperature threshold. The effect has been found for spots
up to several degrees in size, where the biases of the ellipticity estimator
and of the noise are small. To check the effect, now we have studied, with the
same algorithm and in the same sky region, the WMAP maps. We find ellipticity
of the same average value also in WMAP maps, despite of the different
sensitivity of the two experiments to low multipoles. Large spot elongations
had been detected also for the COBE-DMR maps. If this effect is due to geodesic
mixing and hence due to non precisely zero curvature of the hyperbolic
Universe, it can be linked to the origin of WMAP low multipoles anomaly.Comment: More explanations and two references adde
Is there a common origin for the WMAP low multipole and for the ellipticity in BOOMERanG CMB maps?
We have measured the ellipticity of several degree scale anisotropies in the
BOOMERanG maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at 150 GHz. The average
ellipticity is around 2.6-2.7. The biases of the estimator of the ellipticity
and for the noise are small in this case. Large spot elongation had been
detected also for COBE-DMR maps. If this effect is due to geodesic mixing, it
would indicate a non precisely zero curvature of the Universe which is among
the discussed reasons of the WMAP low multipole anomaly. Both effects are
related to the diameter of the Universe: the geodesics mixing through
hyperbolic geometry, low multipoles through boundary conditions.This common
reason can also be related with the origin of the the cosmological constant:
the modes of vacuum fluctuations conditioned by the boundary conditions lead to
a value of the cosmological constant being in remarkable agreement with the
supernovae observations.Comment: Added: two co-authors and a comment on the possible relation of the
discussed CMB properties with the origin of the observed value of the
cosmological constan
Mapping the CMB Sky: The BOOMERANG experiment
We describe the BOOMERanG experiment, a stratospheric balloon telescope
intended to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy at angular
scales between a few degrees and ten arcminutes. The experiment has been
optimized for a long duration (7 to 14 days) flight circumnavigating Antarctica
at the end of 1998. A test flight was performed on Aug.30, 1997 in Texas. The
level of performance achieved in the test flight was satisfactory and
compatible with the requirements for the long duration flight.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
The trispectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background on sub-degree angular scales: an analysis of the BOOMERanG data
The trispectrum of the cosmic microwave background can be used to assess the
level of non-Gaussianity on cosmological scales. It probes the fourth order
moment, as a function of angular scale, of the probability distribution
function of fluctuations and has been shown to be sensitive to primordial
non-gaussianity, secondary anisotropies (such as the Ostriker-Vishniac effect)
and systematic effects (such as astrophysical foregrounds). In this paper we
develop a formalism for estimating the trispectrum from high resolution sky
maps which incorporates the impact of finite sky coverage. This leads to a
series of operations applied to the data set to minimize the effects of
contamination due to the Gaussian component and correlations between estimates
at different scales. To illustrate the effect of the estimation process, we
apply our procedure to the BOOMERanG data set and show that it is consistent
with Gaussianity. This work presents the first estimation of the CMB
trispectrum on sub-degree scales.Comment: 14 pages, submitted to MNRA
The BOOMERANG North America Instrument: a balloon-borne bolometric radiometer optimized for measurements of cosmic background radiation anisotropies from 0.3 to 4 degrees
We describe the BOOMERANG North America (BNA) instrument, a balloon-borne
bolometric radiometer designed to map the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
radiation with 0.3 deg resolution over a significant portion of the sky. This
receiver employs new technologies in bolometers, readout electronics,
millimeter-wave optics and filters, cryogenics, scan and attitude
reconstruction. All these subsystems are described in detail in this paper. The
system has been fully calibrated in flight using a variety of techniques which
are described and compared. It has been able to obtain a measurement of the
first peak in the CMB angular power spectrum in a single balloon flight, few
hours long, and was a prototype of the BOOMERANG Long Duration Balloon (BLDB)
experiment.Comment: 40 pages, 22 figures, submitted to Ap
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