4,367 research outputs found
Sensitivity and foreground modelling for large-scale CMB B-mode polarization satellite missions
The measurement of the large-scale B-mode polarization in the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) is a fundamental goal of future CMB experiments.
However, because of unprecedented sensitivity, future CMB experiments will be
much more sensitive to any imperfect modelling of the Galactic foreground
polarization in the reconstruction of the primordial B-mode signal. We compare
the sensitivity to B-modes of different concepts of CMB satellite missions
(LiteBIRD, COrE, COrE+, PRISM, EPIC, PIXIE) in the presence of Galactic
foregrounds. In particular, we quantify the impact on the tensor-to-scalar
parameter of incorrect foreground modelling in the component separation
process. Using Bayesian fitting and Gibbs sampling, we perform the separation
of the CMB and Galactic foreground B-modes. The recovered CMB B-mode power
spectrum is used to compute the likelihood distribution of the tensor-to-scalar
ratio. We focus the analysis to the very large angular scales that can be
probed only by CMB space missions, i.e. the Reionization bump, where primordial
B-modes dominate over spurious B-modes induced by gravitational lensing. We
find that fitting a single modified blackbody component for thermal dust where
the "real" sky consists of two dust components strongly bias the estimation of
the tensor-to-scalar ratio by more than 5{\sigma} for the most sensitive
experiments. Neglecting in the parametric model the curvature of the
synchrotron spectral index may bias the estimated tensor-to-scalar ratio by
more than 1{\sigma}. For sensitive CMB experiments, omitting in the foreground
modelling a 1% polarized spinning dust component may induce a non-negligible
bias in the estimated tensor-to-scalar ratio.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables. Updated to match version accepted by
MNRA
Systematic Distortion in Cosmic Microwave Background Maps
To minimize instrumentally induced systematic errors, cosmic microwave
background (CMB) anisotropy experiments measure temperature differences across
the sky using paires of horn antennas, temperature map is recovered from
temperature differences obtained in sky survey through a map-making procedure.
To inspect and calibrate residual systematic errors in recovered temperature
maps is important as most previous studies of cosmology are based on these
maps. By analyzing pixel-ring couping and latitude dependence of CMB
temperatures, we find notable systematic deviation from CMB Gaussianity in
released Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) maps. The detected
deviation is hard to explain by any process in the early universe and can not
be ignored for a precision cosmology study.Comment: accepted for publication in Sci China G-Phy Mech Astro
The joint large-scale foreground-CMB posteriors of the 3-year WMAP data
Using a Gibbs sampling algorithm for joint CMB estimation and component
separation, we compute the large-scale CMB and foreground posteriors of the
3-yr WMAP temperature data. Our parametric data model includes the cosmological
CMB signal and instrumental noise, a single power law foreground component with
free amplitude and spectral index for each pixel, a thermal dust template with
a single free overall amplitude, and free monopoles and dipoles at each
frequency. This simple model yields a surprisingly good fit to the data over
the full frequency range from 23 to 94 GHz. We obtain a new estimate of the CMB
sky signal and power spectrum, and a new foreground model, including a
measurement of the effective spectral index over the high-latitude sky. A
particularly significant result is the detection of a common spurious offset in
all frequency bands of ~ -13muK, as well as a dipole in the V-band data.
Correcting for these is essential when determining the effective spectral index
of the foregrounds. We find that our new foreground model is in good agreement
with template-based model presented by the WMAP team, but not with their MEM
reconstruction. We believe the latter may be at least partially compromised by
the residual offsets and dipoles in the data. Fortunately, the CMB power
spectrum is not significantly affected by these issues, as our new spectrum is
in excellent agreement with that published by the WMAP team. The corresponding
cosmological parameters are also virtually unchanged.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to ApJL. Background data are available
at http://www.astro.uio.no/~hke under the Research ta
Real space tests of the statistical isotropy and Gaussianity of the WMAP CMB data
ABRIDGED: We introduce and analyze a method for testing statistical isotropy
and Gaussianity and apply it to the WMAP CMB foreground reduced, temperature
maps, and cross-channel difference maps. We divide the sky into regions of
varying size and shape and measure the first four moments of the one-point
distribution within these regions, and using their simulated spatial
distributions we test the statistical isotropy and Gaussianity hypotheses. By
randomly varying orientations of these regions, we sample the underlying CMB
field in a new manner, that offers a richer exploration of the data content,
and avoids possible biasing due to a single choice of sky division. The
statistical significance is assessed via comparison with realistic Monte-Carlo
simulations.
We find the three-year WMAP maps to agree well with the isotropic, Gaussian
random field simulations as probed by regions corresponding to the angular
scales ranging from 6 deg to 30 deg at 68% confidence level. We report a
strong, anomalous (99.8% CL) dipole ``excess'' in the V band of the three-year
WMAP data and also in the V band of the WMAP five-year data (99.3% CL). We
notice the large scale hemispherical power asymmetry, and find that it is not
highly statistically significant in the WMAP three-year data (<~ 97%) at scales
l <= 40. The significance is even smaller if multipoles up to l=1024 are
considered (~90% CL). We give constraints on the amplitude of the
previously-proposed CMB dipole modulation field parameter. We easily detect the
residual foregrounds in cross-band difference maps at rms level <~ 7 \mu K (at
scales >~ 6 deg) and limit the systematical uncertainties to <~ 1.7 \mu K (at
scales >~ 30 deg).Comment: 20 pages, 20 figures; more tests added; updated to match the version
to be published in JCA
Primordial statistical anisotropy generated at the end of inflation
We present a new mechanism for generating primordial statistical anisotropy
of curvature perturbations. We introduce a vector field which has a non-minimal
kinetic term and couples with a waterfall field in hybrid inflation model. In
such a system, the vector field gives fluctuations of the end of inflation and
hence induces a subcomponent of curvature perturbations. Since the vector has a
preferred direction, the statistical anisotropy could appear in the
fluctuations. We present the explicit formula for the statistical anisotropy in
the primordial power spectrum and the bispectrum of curvature perturbations.
Interestingly, there is the possibility that the statistical anisotropy does
not appear in the power spectrum but does appear in the bispectrum. We also
find that the statistical anisotropy provides the shape dependence to the
bispectrum.Comment: 9 pages, This version supersedes the JCAP version. Minor revision
A New Kind of Uniformly Accelerated Reference Frames
A new kind of uniformly accelerated reference frames with a line-element
different from the M{\o}ller and Rindler ones is presented, in which every
observer at consts. has the same constant acceleration. The laws of
mechanics are checked in the new kind of frames. Its thermal property is
studied. The comparison with the M{\o}ller and Rindler uniform accelerated
reference frames is also made.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Joint Bayesian component separation and CMB power spectrum estimation
We describe and implement an exact, flexible, and computationally efficient
algorithm for joint component separation and CMB power spectrum estimation,
building on a Gibbs sampling framework. Two essential new features are 1)
conditional sampling of foreground spectral parameters, and 2) joint sampling
of all amplitude-type degrees of freedom (e.g., CMB, foreground pixel
amplitudes, and global template amplitudes) given spectral parameters. Given a
parametric model of the foreground signals, we estimate efficiently and
accurately the exact joint foreground-CMB posterior distribution, and therefore
all marginal distributions such as the CMB power spectrum or foreground
spectral index posteriors. The main limitation of the current implementation is
the requirement of identical beam responses at all frequencies, which restricts
the analysis to the lowest resolution of a given experiment. We outline a
future generalization to multi-resolution observations. To verify the method,
we analyse simple models and compare the results to analytical predictions. We
then analyze a realistic simulation with properties similar to the 3-yr WMAP
data, downgraded to a common resolution of 3 degree FWHM. The results from the
actual 3-yr WMAP temperature analysis are presented in a companion Letter.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures; version accepted for publication in ApJ -- only
minor changes, all clarifications. More information about the WMAP3 analysis
available at http://www.astro.uio.no/~hke under the Research ta
Energy spectra of the ocean's internal wave field: theory and observations
The high-frequency limit of the Garrett and Munk spectrum of internal waves
in the ocean and the observed deviations from it are shown to form a pattern
consistent with the predictions of wave turbulence theory. In particular, the
high frequency limit of the Garrett and Munk spectrum constitutes an {\it
exact} steady state solution of the corresponding kinetic equation.Comment: 4 pages, one color figur
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