92 research outputs found
Bayesian joint estimation of non-Gaussianity and the power spectrum
We propose a rigorous, non-perturbative, Bayesian framework which enables one
jointly to test Gaussianity and estimate the power spectrum of CMB
anisotropies. It makes use of the Hilbert space of an harmonic oscillator to
set up an exact likelihood function, dependent on the power spectrum and on a
set of parameters , which are zero for Gaussian processes. The latter
can be expressed as series of cumulants; indeed they perturbatively reduce to
cumulants. However they have the advantage that their variation is essentially
unconstrained. Any truncation(i.e.: finite set of ) therefore still
produces a proper distribution - something which cannot be said of the only
other such tool on offer, the Edgeworth expansion. We apply our method to Very
Small Array (VSA) simulations based on signal Gaussianity, showing that our
algorithm is indeed not biased.Comment: 11pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRA
Planck intermediate results. VIII. Filaments between interacting clusters
About half of the baryons of the Universe are expected to be in the form of
filaments of hot and low density intergalactic medium. Most of these baryons
remain undetected even by the most advanced X-ray observatories which are
limited in sensitivity to the diffuse low density medium. The Planck satellite
has provided hundreds of detections of the hot gas in clusters of galaxies via
the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect and is an ideal instrument for
studying extended low density media through the tSZ effect. In this paper we
use the Planck data to search for signatures of a fraction of these missing
baryons between pairs of galaxy clusters. Cluster pairs are good candidates for
searching for the hotter and denser phase of the intergalactic medium (which is
more easily observed through the SZ effect). Using an X-ray catalogue of
clusters and the Planck data, we select physical pairs of clusters as
candidates. Using the Planck data we construct a local map of the tSZ effect
centered on each pair of galaxy clusters. ROSAT data is used to construct X-ray
maps of these pairs. After having modelled and subtracted the tSZ effect and
X-ray emission for each cluster in the pair we study the residuals on both the
SZ and X-ray maps. For the merging cluster pair A399-A401 we observe a
significant tSZ effect signal in the intercluster region beyond the virial
radii of the clusters. A joint X-ray SZ analysis allows us to constrain the
temperature and density of this intercluster medium. We obtain a temperature of
kT = 7.1 +- 0.9, keV (consistent with previous estimates) and a baryon density
of (3.7 +- 0.2)x10^-4, cm^-3. The Planck satellite mission has provided the
first SZ detection of the hot and diffuse intercluster gas.Comment: Accepted by 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
The BOOMERanG experiment and the curvature of the Universe
We describe the BOOMERanG experiment and its main result, i.e. the
measurement of the large scale curvature of the Universe. BOOMERanG is a
balloon-borne microwave telescope with sensitive cryogenic detectors. BOOMERanG
has measured the angular distribution of the Cosmic Microwave Background on
of the sky, with a resolution of arcmin and a sensitivity
of per pixel. The resulting image is dominated by hot and cold
spots with rms fluctuations and typical size of . The
detailed angular power spectrum of the image features three peaks and two dips
at and , respectively. Such very characteristic
spectrum can be explained assuming that the detected structures are the result
of acoustic oscillations in the primeval plasma. In this framework, the
measured pattern constrains the density parameter to be (95% confidence interval). Other cosmological parameters, like the
spectral index of initial density fluctuations, the density parameter for
baryons, dark matter and dark energy, are detected or constrained by the
BOOMERanG measurements and by other recent CMB anisotropy experiments. When
combined with other cosmological observations, these results depict a new,
consistent, cosmological scenario.Comment: Proc. of the Erice School on "Neutrinos in Astro, Particle and
Nuclear Physics", 18.-26. September 2001, Amand Faessler, Jan Kuckei eds,
"Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics", vol. 4
Planck early results XVII : Origin of the submillimetre excess dust emission in the Magellanic Clouds
Peer reviewe
Planck early results XVIII : The power spectrum of cosmic infrared background anisotropies
Peer reviewe
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