711 research outputs found
Preparation to the CMB PLANCK data analysis, estimation of the contamination due to the galactic polarized emissions
This work is point of the preparation to the analysis of the PLANCK satellite
data. The PLANCK satellite is an ESA mission which has been launched the 14th
of may 2009 and is dedicaced to the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) in temperature and polarization. The presence of diffuse
Galactic polarized emissions disturb the measurement of the CMB anisotropies,
in particular in polarization. Therefore a precise knowledge of these emissions
is needed to obtain the level of accuracy required for PLANCK. In this context,
we have developed and implemented a coherent 3D model of the two mains
polarized Galactic emissions : synchrotron and thermal dust. We have compared
these models to preexisting data: the 23 GHz band of the WMAP data, the 353 GHz
Archeops data and the 408 MHz all-sky continuum survey. We extrapolate these
models to the frequencies where the CMB dominates and we are able to estimate
the contribution of polarized foreground emissions to the polarized CMB
emission measured with PLANCK.Comment: Proceeding of the International Workshop on Cosmic Structure and
Evolution - Cosmology2009, September 23-25, 2009 Bielefeld, German
Bayesian blind component separation for Cosmic Microwave Background observations
We present a technique for the blind separation of components in CMB data.
The method uses a spectral EM algorithm which recovers simultaneously component
templates, their emission law as a function of wavelength, and noise levels. We
test the method on Planck HFI simulated observations featuring 3 astrophysical
components.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the MAXENT 2001
international worksho
Asymfast, a method for convolving maps with asymmetric main beams
We describe a fast and accurate method to perform the convolution of a sky
map with a general asymmetric main beam along any given scanning strategy. The
method is based on the decomposition of the beam as a sum of circular
functions, here Gaussians. It can be easily implemented and is much faster than
pixel-by-pixel convolution. In addition, Asymfast can be used to estimate the
effective circularized beam transfer functions of CMB instruments with
non-symmetric main beam. This is shown using realistic simulations and by
comparison to analytical approximations which are available for Gaussian
elliptical beams. Finally, the application of this technique to Archeops data
is also described. Although developped within the framework of Cosmic Microwave
Background observations, our method can be applied to other areas of
astrophysics.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, Phys. Rev. D, in pres
NIKEL: Electronics and data acquisition for kilopixels kinetic inductance camera
A prototype of digital frequency multiplexing electronics allowing the real
time monitoring of microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKIDs) arrays for
mm-wave astronomy has been developed. Thanks to the frequency multiplexing, it
can monitor simultaneously 400 pixels over a 500 MHz bandwidth and requires
only two coaxial cables for instrumenting such a large array. The chosen
solution and the performances achieved are presented in this paper.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figure
Bi-layer Kinetic Inductance Detectors for space observations between 80-120 GHz
We have developed Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LEKID)
sensitive in the frequency band from 80 to 120~GHz. In this work, we take
advantage of the so-called proximity effect to reduce the superconducting gap
of Aluminium, otherwise strongly suppressing the LEKID response for frequencies
smaller than 100~GHz. We have designed, produced and optically tested various
fully multiplexed arrays based on multi-layers combinations of Aluminium (Al)
and Titanium (Ti). Their sensitivities have been measured using a dedicated
closed-circle 100 mK dilution cryostat and a sky simulator allowing to
reproduce realistic observation conditions. The spectral response has been
characterised with a Martin-Puplett interferometer up to THz frequencies, and
with a resolution of 3~GHz. We demonstrate that Ti-Al LEKID can reach an
optical sensitivity of about ~ (best pixel), or
~ when averaged over the whole array. The optical
background was set to roughly 0.4~pW per pixel, typical for future space
observatories in this particular band. The performance is close to a
sensitivity of twice the CMB photon noise limit at 100~GHz which drove the
design of the Planck HFI instrument. This figure remains the baseline for the
next generation of millimetre-wave space satellites.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, submitted to A&
Supernova type Ia luminosities, their dependence on second parameters, and the value of H_0
A sample of 35 SNe Ia with good to excellent photometry in B and V, minimum
internal absorption, and 1200 < v < \approx 30000 km/s is compiled from the
literature. As far as their spectra are known they are all Branch-normal. For
29 of the SNe Ia also peak magnitudes in I are known. The SNe Ia have uniform
colors at maximum, i.e. =-0.012 mag (sigma=0.051) and =-0.276 mag
(sigma=0.078). In the Hubble diagram they define a Hubble line with a scatter
of =0.21-0.16 mag, decreasing with wavelength. The scatter is further
reduced if the SNe Ia are corrected for differences in decline rate Delta_m_15
or color (B-V). A combined correction reduces the scatter to sigma<=0.13 mag.
After the correction no significant dependence remains on Hubble type or
galactocentric distance. The Hubble line suggests some curvature which can be
differently interpreted. A consistent solution is obtained for a cosmological
model with Omega_M=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, which is indicated also by much more
distant SNe Ia. Absolute magnitudes are available for eight equally blue
(Branch-normal) SNe Ia in spirals, whose Cepheid distances are known. If their
well defined mean values of M_B, M_V, and M_I are used to fit the Hubble line
to the above sample of SNe Ia one obtains H_0=58.3 km/s/Mpc, or, after
adjusting all SNe Ia to the average values of Delta_m_15 and (B-V), H_0=60.9
km/s/Mpc. Various systematic errors are discussed whose elimination tends to
decrease H_0. The finally adopted value at the 90-percent level, including
random and systematic errors, is H_0=58.5 +/- 6.3 km/s/Mpc. Several higher
values of H_0 from SNe Ia, as suggested in the literature, are found to depend
on large corrections for variations of the light curve parameter and/or on an
unwarranted reduction of the Cepheid distances of the calibrating SNe Ia.Comment: 42 pages, including 9 figures; submitted to Ap
Measuring Cosmological Parameters with the JVAS and CLASS Gravitational Lens Surveys
The JVAS (Jodrell Bank-VLA Astrometric Survey) and CLASS (Cosmic Lens All-Sky
Survey) are well-defined surveys containing about ten thousand flat-spectrum
radio sources. For many reasons, flat-spectrum radio sources are particularly
well-suited as a population from which one can obtain unbiased samples of
gravitational lenses. These are by far the largest gravitational (macro)lens
surveys, and particular attention was paid to constructing a cleanly-defined
sample for the survey itself and for the underlying luminosity function. Here
we present the constraints on cosmological parameters, particularly the
cosmological constant, derived from JVAS and combine them with constraints from
optical gravitational lens surveys, `direct' measurements of ,
and the age of the universe, and constraints derived from CMB
anisotropies, before putting this final result into the context of the latest
results from other, independent cosmological tests.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, 6 PostScript figures, uses texas.sty. To appear in
the Proceedings of the 19th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics and
Cosmology (CD-ROM). Paper version available on request. Actual poster (A0 and
A4 versions) available from
http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/helbig/research/publications/info/
texas98.htm
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