Dark Before Light: Testing the Cosmic Expansion History through the Cosmic Microwave Background

The cosmic expansion history proceeds in broad terms from a radiation dominated epoch to matter domination to an accelerated, dark energy dominated epoch. We investigate whether intermittent periods of acceleration are possible in the early universe -- between Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and recombination and beyond. We establish that the standard picture is remarkably robust: observations of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background exclude any extra period of accelerated expansion between 1 \leq z \lesssim 10^5 (corresponding to 5\times10^{-4}\ {\rm eV} \leq T \lesssim 25\ {\rm eV}).Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Metallicity determination in gas-rich galaxies with semiempirical methods

A study of the precision of the semiempirical methods used in the determination of the chemical abundances in gas-rich galaxies is carried out. In order to do this the oxygen abundances of a total of 438 galaxies were determined using the electronic temperature, the $R_{23}$ and the P methods. The new calibration of the P method gives the smaller dispersion for the low and high metallicity regions, while the best numbers in the turnaround region are given by the $R_{23}$ method. We also found that the dispersion correlates with the metallicity. Finally, it can be said that all the semiempirical methods studied here are quite insensitive to metallicity with a value of $8.0\pm0.2$ dex for more than 50% of the total sample. \keywords{ISM: abundances; (ISM): H {\sc ii} regions}Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures and 2 tables. To appear at AJ, January 200

A Cosmic Microwave Background Lensing Mass Map and Its Correlation with the Cosmic Infrared Background

We use a temperature map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) obtained using the South Pole Telescope at 150 GHz to construct a map of the gravitational convergence to z ~ 1100, revealing the fluctuations in the projected mass density. This map shows individual features that are significant at the ~4σ level, providing the first image of CMB lensing convergence. We cross-correlate this map with Herschel/SPIRE maps covering 90 deg2 at wavelengths of 500, 350, and 250 μm. We show that these submillimeter (submm) wavelength maps are strongly correlated with the lensing convergence map, with detection significances in each of the three submm bands ranging from 6.7σ to 8.8σ. We fit the measurement of the cross power spectrum assuming a simple constant bias model and infer bias factors of b = 1.3-1.8, with a statistical uncertainty of 15%, depending on the assumed model for the redshift distribution of the dusty galaxies that are contributing to the Herschel/SPIRE maps

BICEP3 performance overview and planned Keck Array upgrade

Bicep3 is a 520mm aperture, compact two-lens refractor designed to observe the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at 95 GHz. Its focal plane consists of modularized tiles of antenna-coupled transition edge sensors (TESs), similar to those used in Bicep2 and the Keck Array. The increased per-receiver optical throughput compared to Bicep2/Keck Array, due to both its faster f=1:7 optics and the larger aperture, more than doubles the combined mapping speed of the Bicep/Keck program. The Bicep3 receiver was recently upgraded to a full complement of 20 tiles of detectors (2560 TESs) and is now beginning its second year of observation (and first science season) at the South Pole. We report on its current performance and observing plans. Given its high per-receiver throughput while maintaining the advantages of a compact design, Bicep3- class receivers are ideally suited as building blocks for a 3rd-generation CMB experiment, consisting of multiple receivers spanning 35 GHz to 270 GHz with total detector count in the tens of thousands. We present plans for such an array, the new "BICEP Array" that will replace the Keck Array at the South Pole, including design optimization, frequency coverage, and deployment/observing strategies

The C-13 Suess effect in the world surface oceans and its implications for oceanic uptake of CO2:Analysis of observations at Bermuda

Surface ocean water delta(13)C measurements near Bermuda are examined in an attempt to find the annual decrease caused by the addition of anthropogenic CO2 to the atmosphere. We refer to this trend as the surface ocean C-13 Suess effect. Interannual variability, which may be related to the El Nino - Southern Oscillation in the Atlantic Ocean, is apparent. We try to correct the data for this variability so as to better determine the trend. The trend has implications for the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the oceans. We employ a three-dimensional model of ocean chemistry to relate the trend at Bermuda to the average ocean trend, then use the average ocean trend to estimate the vertical diffusivity K in a one-dimensional ocean model, and finally use this model to calculate the oceanic uptake of CO2. Uncertainties associated with the estimation of the Suess effect at Bermuda and in the analysis procedure preclude a firm estimate of the oceanic uptake of CO2. Results are, in general, consistent with the low side of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control estimation of 2.0 +/- 0.8 GtC yr(-1). With a longer record at Bermuda and delta(13)C observations at additional locations, we believe this approach will lead to a useful estimate of oceanic uptake

Modeling Extragalactic Foregrounds and Secondaries for Unbiased Estimation of Cosmological Parameters From Primary CMB Anisotropy

Using the latest physical modeling and constrained by the most recent data, we develop a phenomenological parameterized model of the contributions to intensity and polarization maps at millimeter wavelengths from external galaxies and Sunyaev-Zeldovich effects. We find such modeling to be necessary for estimation of cosmological parameters from Planck data. For example, ignoring the clustering of the infrared background would result in a bias in n_s of 7 sigma. We show that the simultaneous marginalization over a full foreground model can eliminate such biases, while increasing the statistical uncertainty in cosmological parameters by less than 20%. The small increases in uncertainty can be significantly reduced with the inclusion of higher-resolution ground-based data. The multi-frequency analysis we employ involves modeling 46 total power spectra and marginalization over 17 foreground parameters. We show that we can also reduce the data to a best estimate of the CMB power spectra, and just two principal components (with constrained amplitudes) describing residual foreground contamination.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Ap

BICEP2. II. Experiment and three-year Data Set

We report on the design and performance of the BICEP2 instrument and on its three-year data set. BICEP2 was designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on angular scales of 1°-5°(ℓ = 40-200), near the expected peak of the B-mode polarization signature of primordial gravitational waves from cosmic inflation. Measuring B-modes requires dramatic improvements in sensitivity combined with exquisite control of systematics. The BICEP2 telescope observed from the South Pole with a 26 cm aperture and cold, on-axis, refractive optics. BICEP2 also adopted a new detector design in which beam-defining slot antenna arrays couple to transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers, all fabricated on a common substrate. The antenna-coupled TES detectors supported scalable fabrication and multiplexed readout that allowed BICEP2 to achieve a high detector count of 500 bolometers at 150 GHz, giving unprecedented sensitivity to B-modes at degree angular scales. After optimization of detector and readout parameters, BICEP2 achieved an instrument noise-equivalent temperature of 15.8 µK√s. The full data set reached Stokes Q and U map depths of 87.2 nK in square-degree pixels (5.'2 μK) over an effective area of 384 deg^2 within a 1000 deg^2 field. These are the deepest CMB polarization maps at degree angular scales to date. The power spectrum analysis presented in a companion paper has resulted in a significant detection of B-mode polarization at degree scales

BICEP2. III. Instrumental Systematics

In a companion paper, we have reported a >5σ detection of degree scale B-mode polarization at 150 GHz by the Bicep2 experiment. Here we provide a detailed study of potential instrumental systematic contamination to that measurement. We focus extensively on spurious polarization that can potentially arise from beam imperfections. We present a heuristic classification of beam imperfections according to their symmetries and uniformities, and discuss how resulting contamination adds or cancels in maps that combine observations made at multiple orientations of the telescope about its boresight axis. We introduce a technique, which we call "deprojection," for filtering the leading order beam-induced contamination from time-ordered data, and show that it reduces power in Bicep2's actual and null-test BB spectra consistent with predictions using high signal-to-noise beam shape measurements. We detail the simulation pipeline that we use to directly simulate instrumental systematics and the calibration data used as input to that pipeline. Finally, we present the constraints on BB contamination from individual sources of potential systematics. We find that systematics contribute BB power that is a factor of ~10× below Bicep2's three-year statistical uncertainty, and negligible compared to the observed BB signal. The contribution to the best-fit tensor/scalar ratio is at a level equivalent to r = (3–6) × 10^(−3)

BICEP2/Keck Array. IV. Optical Characterization and Performance of the BICEP2 and Keck Array Experiments

bicep2 and the Keck Array are polarization-sensitive microwave telescopes that observe the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the South Pole at degree angular scales in search of a signature of inflation imprinted as B-mode polarization in the CMB. bicep2 was deployed in late 2009, observed for three years until the end of 2012 at 150 GHz with 512 antenna-coupled transition edge sensor bolometers, and has reported a detection of B-mode polarization on degree angular scales. The Keck Array was first deployed in late 2010 and will observe through 2016 with five receivers at several frequencies (95, 150, and 220 GHz). bicep2 and the Keck Array share a common optical design and employ the field-proven bicep1 strategy of using small-aperture, cold, on-axis refractive optics, providing excellent control of systematics while maintaining a large field of view. This design allows for full characterization of far-field optical performance using microwave sources on the ground. Here we describe the optical design of both instruments and report a full characterization of the optical performance and beams of bicep2 and the Keck Array at 150 GHz