177 research outputs found
Pearson's random walk in the space of the CMB phases: evidence for parity asymmetry
The temperature fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) are
supposed to be distributed randomly in both magnitude and phase, following to
the simplest model of inflation. In this paper, we look at the odd and even
multipoles of the spherical harmonic decomposition of the CMB, and the
different characteristics of these, giving rise to a parity asymmetry. We
compare the even and odd multipoles in the CMB power spectrum, and also the
even and odd mean angles. We find for the multipoles of the power spectrum,
that there is power excess in odd multipoles, compared to even ones, meaning
that we have a parity asymmetry. Further, for the phases, we present a random
walk for the mean angles, and find a significant separation for even/odd mean
angles, especially so for galactic coordinates. This is further tested and
confirmed with a directional parity test, comparing the parity asymmetry in
galactic and ecliptic coordinates.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D, 10 pages, 10 figures, 1
table. Some typographical errors corrected, and further references adde
Morphology of High-Multiplicity Events in Heavy Ion Collisions
We discuss opportunities that may arise from subjecting high-multiplicity
events in relativistic heavy ion collisions to an analysis similar to the one
used in cosmology for the study of fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB). To this end, we discuss examples of how pertinent features of
heavy ion collisions including global characteristics, signatures of collective
flow and event-wise fluctuations are visually represented in a Mollweide
projection commonly used in CMB analysis, and how they are statistically
analyzed in an expansion over spherical harmonic functions. If applied to the
characterization of purely azimuthal dependent phenomena such as collective
flow, the expansion coefficients of spherical harmonics are seen to contain
redundancies compared to the set of harmonic flow coefficients commonly used in
heavy ion collisions. Our exploratory study indicates, however, that these
redundancies may offer novel opportunities for a detailed characterization of
those event-wise fluctuations that remain after subtraction of the dominant
collective flow signatures. By construction, the proposed approach allows also
for the characterization of more complex collective phenomena like higher-order
flow and other sources of fluctuations, and it may be extended to the
characterization of phenomena of non-collective origin such as jets.Comment: Matches version accepted for publication in Physical Review C. 13
pages, 9 figure
Faraday Rotation as a diagnostic of Galactic foreground contamination of CMB maps
The contribution from the residuals of the foreground can have a significant
impact on the temperature maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB).
Mostly, the focus has been on the galactic plane, when foreground cleaning has
taken place. However, in this paper, we will investigate the possible
foreground contamination, from sources outside the galactic plane in the CMB
maps. We will analyze the correlation between the Faraday rotation map and the
CMB temperature map. The Faraday rotation map is dependent on the galactic
magnetic field, as well as the thermal electron density, and both may
contribute to the CMB temperature. We find that the standard deviation for the
mean cross correlation deviate from that of simulations at the 99.9% level.
Additionally, a comparison between the CMB temperature extrema and the extremum
points of the Faraday rotation is also performed, showing a general overlap
between the two. Also we find that the CMB Cold Spot is located at an area of
strong negative cross correlation, meaning that it may be explained by a
galactic origin. Further, we investigate nearby supernova remnants in the
galaxy, traced by the galactic radio loops. These super nova remnants are
located at high and low galactic latitude, and thus well outside the galactic
plane. We find some correlation between the Faraday Rotation and the CMB
temperature, at select radio loops. This indicate, that the galactic
foregrounds may affect the CMB, at high galactic latitudesComment: 13 pages, 22 figures, 6 table
Planck intermediate results. XXIX. All-sky dust modelling with Planck, IRAS, and WISE observations
We present all-sky modelling of the high resolution Planck, IRAS, and WISE
infrared (IR) observations using the physical dust model presented by Draine
and Li in 2007 (DL). We study the performance and results of this model, and
discuss implications for future dust modelling. The present work extends the DL
dust modelling carried out on nearby galaxies using Herschel and Spitzer data
to Galactic dust emission. We employ the DL dust model to generate maps of the
dust mass surface density, the optical extinction Av, and the starlight
intensity parametrized by Umin. The DL model reproduces the observed spectral
energy distribution (SED) satisfactorily over most of the sky, with small
deviations in the inner Galactic disk and in low ecliptic latitude areas. We
compare the DL optical extinction Av for the diffuse interstellar medium with
optical estimates for 2 10^5 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) observed in the Sloan
digital sky survey. The DL Av estimates are larger than those determined
towards QSOs by a factor of about 2, which depends on Umin. The DL fitting
parameter Umin, effectively determined by the wavelength where the SED peaks,
appears to trace variations in the far-IR opacity of the dust grains per unit
Av, and not only in the starlight intensity. To circumvent the model
deficiency, we propose an empirical renormalization of the DL Av estimate,
dependent of Umin, which compensates for the systematic differences found with
QSO observations. This renormalization also brings into agreement the DL Av
estimates with those derived for molecular clouds from the near-IR colours of
stars in the 2 micron all sky survey. The DL model and the QSOs data are used
to compress the spectral information in the Planck and IRAS observations for
the diffuse ISM to a family of 20 SEDs normalized per Av, parameterized by
Umin, which may be used to test and empirically calibrate dust models.Comment: Final version that has appeared in A&
Planck 2015 results. XXVII. The Second Planck Catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Sources
We present the all-sky Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources detected from the 29 month full-mission data. The catalogue (PSZ2) is the largest SZ-selected sample of galaxy clusters yet produced and the deepest all-sky catalogue of galaxy clusters. It contains 1653 detections, of which 1203 are confirmed clusters with identified counterparts in external data-sets, and is the first SZ-selected cluster survey containing > confirmed clusters. We present a detailed analysis of the survey selection function in terms of its completeness and statistical reliability, placing a lower limit of 83% on the purity. Using simulations, we find that the Y5R500 estimates are robust to pressure-profile variation and beam systematics, but accurate conversion to Y500 requires. the use of prior information on the cluster extent. We describe the multi-wavelength search for counterparts in ancillary data, which makes use of radio, microwave, infra-red, optical and X-ray data-sets, and which places emphasis on the robustness of the counterpart match. We discuss the physical properties of the new sample and identify a population of low-redshift X-ray under- luminous clusters revealed by SZ selection. These objects appear in optical and SZ surveys with consistent properties for their mass, but are almost absent from ROSAT X-ray selected samples
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Planck 2015 results: XXVI. The Second Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources
The Second Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources is a list of discrete objects detected in single-frequency maps from the full duration of the Planck mission and supersedes previous versions. It consists of compact sources, both Galactic and extragalactic, detected over the entire sky. Compact sources detected in the lower frequency channels are assigned to the PCCS2, while at higher frequencies they are assigned to one of two subcatalogues, the PCCS2 or PCCS2E, depending on their location on the sky. The first of these (PCCS2) covers most of the sky and allows the user to produce subsamples at higher reliabilities than the target 80% integral reliability of the catalogue. The second (PCCS2E) contains sources detected in sky regions where the diffuse emission makes it difficult to quantify the reliability of the detections. Both the PCCS2 and PCCS2E include polarization measurements, in the form of polarized flux densities, or upper limits, and orientation angles for all seven polarization-sensitive Planck channels. The improved data-processing of the full-mission maps and their reduced noise levels allow us to increase the number of objects in the catalogue, improving its completeness for the target 80% reliability as compared with the previous versions, the PCCS and the Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC).The Planck Collaboration acknowledges the support of: ESA; CNES and CNRS/INSU-IN2P3-INP (France); ASI, CNR, and INAF (Italy); NASA and DoE (USA); STFC and UKSA (UK); CSIC, MINECO, JA, and, RES (Spain); Tekes, AoF, and CSC (Finland); DLR and MPG (Germany); CSA (Canada); DTU Space (Denmark); SER/SSO (Switzerland); RCN (Norway); SFI (Ireland); FCT/MCTES (Portugal); ERC and PRACE (EU). A description of the Planck Collaboration and a list of its members, indicating which technical or scientific activities they have been involved in, can be found at http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/planck/planck-collaboration. We are grateful to the H-ATLAS Executive Committee and primarily to the PIs, S. Eales and L. Dunne, for permission to use the unpublished H-ATLAS catalogue for the validation of the present catalogue. This research has made use of the âAladin sky atlasâ (Bonnarel et al. 2000), developed at CDS, Strasbourg Observatory, France. Part of this work was performed using the Darwin Supercomputer of the University of Cambridge High Performance Computing Service (http://www.hpc.cam.ac.uk/), provided by Dell Inc. using Strategic Research Infrastructure Funding from the HEFCE and funding from the STFC. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Planck 2015 results: XVII. Constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity
The Planck full mission cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and E-mode polarization maps are analysed to obtain constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (NG). Using three classes of optimal bispectrum estimators-separable template-fitting (KSW), binned, and modal-we obtain consistent values for the primordial local, equilateral, and orthogonal bispectrum amplitudes, quoting as our final result from temperature alone localNL = 2.5 ± 5.7, equilNL=-16 ± 70, fNLlocal=2.5±5.7, fNLequil=-16±70, and orthoNL =-34 ± 32fNLortho=-34±33 (68% CL, statistical). Combining temperature and polarization data we obtain fNLlocal=0.8±5.0, fNLequil=-4±43, and fNLortho=-26±21localNL = 0.8 ± 5.0, equilNL=-4 ± 43, and orthoNL =-26 ± 21 (68% CL, statistical). The results are based on comprehensive cross-validation of these estimators on Gaussian and non-Gaussian simulations, are stable across component separation techniques, pass an extensive suite of tests, and are consistent with estimators based on measuring the Minkowski functionals of the CMB. The effect of time-domain de-glitching systematics on the bispectrum is negligible. In spite of these test outcomes we conservatively label the results including polarization data as preliminary, owing to a known mismatch of the noise model in simulations and the data. Beyond estimates of individual shape amplitudes, we present model-independent, three-dimensional reconstructions of the Planck CMB bispectrum and derive constraints on early universe scenarios that generate primordial NG, including general single-field models of inflation, axion inflation, initial state modifications, models producing parity-violating tensor bispectra, and directionally dependent vector models. We present a wide survey of scale-dependent feature and resonance models, accounting for the "look elsewhere" effect in estimating the statistical significance of features. We also look for isocurvature NG, and find no signal, but we obtain constraints that improve significantly with the inclusion of polarization. The primordial trispectrum amplitude in the local model is constrained to be glocalNL = (-0.9 ± 7.7) X 104(68% CL statistical), and we perform an analysis of trispectrum shapes beyond the local case. The global picture that emerges is one of consistency with the premises of the ÎCDM cosmology, namely that the structure we observe today was sourced by adiabatic, passive, Gaussian, and primordial seed perturbations
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Planck 2015 results: XIII. Cosmological parameters
We present results based on full-mission Planck observations of temperature
and polarization anisotropies of the CMB. These data are consistent with the
six-parameter inflationary LCDM cosmology. From the Planck temperature and
lensing data, for this cosmology we find a Hubble constant, H0= (67.8 +/- 0.9)
km/s/Mpc, a matter density parameter Omega_m = 0.308 +/- 0.012 and a scalar
spectral index with n_s = 0.968 +/- 0.006. (We quote 68% errors on measured
parameters and 95% limits on other parameters.) Combined with Planck
temperature and lensing data, Planck LFI polarization measurements lead to a
reionization optical depth of tau = 0.066 +/- 0.016. Combining Planck with
other astrophysical data we find N_ eff = 3.15 +/- 0.23 for the effective
number of relativistic degrees of freedom and the sum of neutrino masses is
constrained to < 0.23 eV. Spatial curvature is found to be |Omega_K| < 0.005.
For LCDM we find a limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r <0.11 consistent
with the B-mode constraints from an analysis of BICEP2, Keck Array, and Planck
(BKP) data. Adding the BKP data leads to a tighter constraint of r < 0.09. We
find no evidence for isocurvature perturbations or cosmic defects. The equation
of state of dark energy is constrained to w = -1.006 +/- 0.045. Standard big
bang nucleosynthesis predictions for the Planck LCDM cosmology are in excellent
agreement with observations. We investigate annihilating dark matter and
deviations from standard recombination, finding no evidence for new physics.
The Planck results for base LCDM are in agreement with BAO data and with the
JLA SNe sample. However the amplitude of the fluctuations is found to be higher
than inferred from rich cluster counts and weak gravitational lensing. Apart
from these tensions, the base LCDM cosmology provides an excellent description
of the Planck CMB observations and many other astrophysical data sets
Planck 2015 results. XXIV. Cosmology from Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster counts
We present cluster counts and corresponding cosmological constraints from the Planck full mission data set. Our catalogue consists of 439 clusters detected via their Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) signal down to a signal-to-noise ratio of 6, and is more than a factor of 2 larger than the 2013 Planck cluster cosmology sample. The counts are consistent with those from 2013 and yield compatible constraints under the same modelling assumptions. Taking advantage of the larger catalogue, we extend our analysis to the two-dimensional distribution in redshift and signal-to-noise. We use mass estimates from two recent studies of gravitational lensing of background galaxies by Planck clusters to provide priors on the hydrostatic bias parameter, (1âb). In addition, we use lensing of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature fluctuations by Planck clusters as an independent constraint on this parameter. These various calibrations imply constraints on the present-day amplitude of matter fluctuations in varying degrees of tension with those from the Planck analysis of primary fluctuations in the CMB; for the lowest estimated values of (1âb) the tension is mild, only a little over one standard deviation, while it remains substantial (3.7Ï) for the largest estimated value. We also examine constraints on extensions to the base flat ÎCDM model by combining the cluster and CMB constraints. The combination appears to favour non-minimal neutrino masses, but this possibility does little to relieve the overall tension because it simultaneously lowers the implied value of the Hubble parameter, thereby exacerbating the discrepancy with most current astrophysical estimates. Improving the precision of cluster mass calibrations from the current 10%-level to 1% would significantly strengthen these combined analyses and provide a stringent test of the base ÎCDM model
Planck intermediate results XXV : The Andromeda galaxy as seen by Planck
The Andromeda galaxy (M 31) is one of a few galaxies that has sufficient angular size on the sky to be resolved by the Planck satellite. Planck has detected M 31 in all of its frequency bands, and has mapped out the dust emission with the High Frequency Instrument, clearly resolving multiple spiral arms and sub-features. We examine the morphology of this long-wavelength dust emission as seen by Planck, including a study of its outermost spiral arms, and investigate the dust heating mechanism across M 31. We find that dust dominating the longer wavelength emission (greater than or similar to 0.3 mm) is heated by the diffuse stellar population (as traced by 3.6 mu m emission), with the dust dominating the shorter wavelength emission heated by a mix of the old stellar population and star-forming regions (as traced by 24 mu m emission). We also fit spectral energy distributions for individual 5' pixels and quantify the dust properties across the galaxy, taking into account these different heating mechanisms, finding that there is a linear decrease in temperature with galactocentric distance for dust heated by the old stellar population, as would be expected, with temperatures ranging from around 22 K in the nucleus to 14 K outside of the 10 kpc ring. Finally, we measure the integrated spectrum of the whole galaxy, which we find to be well-fitted with a global dust temperature of (18.2 +/- 1.0) K with a spectral index of 1.62 +/- 0.11 (assuming a single modified blackbody), and a significant amount of free-free emission at intermediate frequencies of 20-60 GHz, which corresponds to a star formation rate of around 0.12 M-circle dot yr(-1). We find a 2.3 sigma detection of the presence of spinning dust emission, with a 30 GHz amplitude of 0.7 +/- 0.3 Jy, which is in line with expectations from our Galaxy.Peer reviewe
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