Cosmic microwave background power spectrum estimation with the destriping technique

Extraction of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) angular power spectrum is a challenging task for current and future CMB experiments due to the large data sets involved. Here we describe an implementation of MASTER (Monte carlo Apodised Spherical Transform EstimatoR) which exploits the destriping technique as a map-making method. In this method a noise estimate based on destriped noise-only MC (Monte Carlo) simulations is subtracted from the pseudo angular power spectrum. As a working case we use realistic simulations of the PLANCK LFI (Low Frequency Instrument). We found that the effect of destriping on a pure sky signal is minimal and requires no correction. Instead we found an effect related to the distribution of detector pointings, which affects the high multipole part of the power spectrum. We correct for this by subtracting a ``signal bias'' estimated by MC simulations. We also give analytical estimates for this signal bias. Our method is fast and accurate enough (the estimator is un-biased and errors are close to theoretical expectations for maximal accuracy) to estimate the CMB angular power spectra for current and future CMB space missions. This study is related to PLANCK LFI activities.Comment: 16 pages, 23 figures, submitted to MNRA

Planck intermediate results X : Physics of the hot gas in the Coma cluster

Peer reviewe

Planck 2018 results : XI. Polarized dust foregrounds

The study of polarized dust emission has become entwined with the analysis of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization in the quest for the curl-like B-mode polarization from primordial gravitational waves and the low-multipole E-mode polarization associated with the reionization of the Universe. We used the new Planck PR3 maps to characterize Galactic dust emission at high latitudes as a foreground to the CMB polarization and use end-to-end simulations to compute uncertainties and assess the statistical significance of our measurements. We present PlanckEE, BB, and TE power spectra of dust polarization at 353 GHz for a set of six nested high-Galactic-latitude sky regions covering from 24 to 71% of the sky. We present power-law fits to the angular power spectra, yielding evidence for statistically significant variations of the exponents over sky regions and a difference between the values for the EE and BB spectra, which for the largest sky region are alpha (EE)=-2.42 +/- 0.02 and alpha (BB)=-2.54 +/- 0.02, respectively. The spectra show that the TE correlation and E/B power asymmetry discovered by Planck extend to low multipoles that were not included in earlier Planck polarization papers due to residual data systematics. We also report evidence for a positive TB dust signal. Combining data from Planck and WMAP, we have determined the amplitudes and spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of polarized foregrounds, including the correlation between dust and synchrotron polarized emission, for the six sky regions as a function of multipole. This quantifies the challenge of the component-separation procedure that is required for measuring the low-l reionization CMB E-mode signal and detecting the reionization and recombination peaks of primordial CMB B modes. The SED of polarized dust emission is fit well by a single-temperature modified black-body emission law from 353 GHz to below 70 GHz. For a dust temperature of 19.6 K, the mean dust spectral index for dust polarization is beta (P)(d) = 1.53 +/- 0.02 beta d P = 1.53 +/- 0.02 . The difference between indices for polarization and total intensity is beta (P)(d)-beta (I)(d) = 0.05 +/- 0.03 beta d P - beta d I =0.05 +/- 0.03 . By fitting multi-frequency cross-spectra between Planck data at 100, 143, 217, and 353 GHz, we examine the correlation of the dust polarization maps across frequency. We find no evidence for a loss of correlation and provide lower limits to the correlation ratio that are tighter than values we derive from the correlation of the 217- and 353 GHz maps alone. If the Planck limit on decorrelation for the largest sky region applies to the smaller sky regions observed by sub-orbital experiments, then frequency decorrelation of dust polarization might not be a problem for CMB experiments aiming at a primordial B-mode detection limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r similar or equal to 0.01 at the recombination peak. However, the Planck sensitivity precludes identifying how difficult the component-separation problem will be for more ambitious experiments targeting lower limits on r.Peer reviewe

Planck intermediate results XI : The gas content of dark matter halos: the Sunyaev-Zeldovich-stellar mass relation for locally brightest galaxies

Peer reviewe

Planck 2013 results. IX. HFI spectral response

Peer reviewe

Planck 2013 results. X. HFI energetic particle effects : characterization, removal, and simulation

Peer reviewe

Planck 2018 results : V. CMB power spectra and likelihoods

We describe the legacy Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) likelihoods derived from the 2018 data release. The overall approach is similar in spirit to the one retained for the 2013 and 2015 data release, with a hybrid method using different approximations at low (l= 30) multipoles, implementing several methodological and data-analysis refinements compared to previous releases. With more realistic simulations, and better correction and modelling of systematic effects, we can now make full use of the CMB polarization observed in the High Frequency Instrument (HFI) channels. The low-multipole EE cross-spectra from the 100 GHz and 143 GHz data give a constraint on the Lambda CDM reionization optical-depth parameter tau to better than 15% (in combination with the TT low-l data and the high-l temperature and polarization data), tightening constraints on all parameters with posterior distributions correlated with tau. We also update the weaker constraint on tau from the joint TEB likelihood using the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) channels, which was used in 2015 as part of our baseline analysis. At higher multipoles, the CMB temperature spectrum and likelihood are very similar to previous releases. A better model of the temperature-to-polarization leakage and corrections for the effective calibrations of the polarization channels (i.e., the polarization efficiencies) allow us to make full use of polarization spectra, improving the Lambda CDM constraints on the parameters theta(MC), omega(c), omega(b), and H-0 by more than 30%, and n(s) by more than 20% compared to TT-only constraints. Extensive tests on the robustness of the modelling of the polarization data demonstrate good consistency, with some residual modelling uncertainties. At high multipoles, we are now limited mainly by the accuracy of the polarization efficiency modelling. Using our various tests, simulations, and comparison between different high-multipole likelihood implementations, we estimate the consistency of the results to be better than the 0.5 sigma level on the Lambda CDM parameters, as well as classical single-parameter extensions for the joint likelihood (to be compared to the 0.3 sigma levels we achieved in 2015 for the temperature data alone on Lambda CDM only). Minor curiosities already present in the previous releases remain, such as the differences between the best-fit Lambda CDM parameters for the l 800 ranges of the power spectrum, or the preference for more smoothing of the power-spectrum peaks than predicted in Lambda CDM fits. These are shown to be driven by the temperature power spectrum and are not significantly modified by the inclusion of the polarization data. Overall, the legacy Planck CMB likelihoods provide a robust tool for constraining the cosmological model and represent a reference for future CMB observations.Peer reviewe

Planck 2018 results : IX. Constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity

We analyse the Planck full-mission cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and E-mode polarization maps to obtain constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (NG). We compare estimates obtained from separable template-fitting, binned, and optimal modal bispectrum estimators, finding consistent values for the local, equilateral, and orthogonal bispectrum amplitudes. Our combined temperature and polarization analysis produces the following final results: fNLlocal = −0.9 ± 5.1; fNLequil = −26 ± 47; and fNLortho = −38 ± 24 (68% CL, statistical). These results include low-multipole (4 ≤ ℓ <  40) polarization data that are not included in our previous analysis. The results also pass an extensive battery of tests (with additional tests regarding foreground residuals compared to 2015), and they are stable with respect to our 2015 measurements (with small fluctuations, at the level of a fraction of a standard deviation, which is consistent with changes in data processing). Polarization-only bispectra display a significant improvement in robustness; they can now be used independently to set primordial NG constraints with a sensitivity comparable to WMAP temperature-based results and they give excellent agreement. In addition to the analysis of the standard local, equilateral, and orthogonal bispectrum shapes, we consider a large number of additional cases, such as scale-dependent feature and resonance bispectra, isocurvature primordial NG, and parity-breaking models, where we also place tight constraints but do not detect any signal. The non-primordial lensing bispectrum is, however, detected with an improved significance compared to 2015, excluding the null hypothesis at 3.5σ. Beyond estimates of individual shape amplitudes, we also present model-independent reconstructions and analyses of the Planck CMB bispectrum. Our final constraint on the local primordial trispectrum shape is gNLlocal = (−5.8 ± 6.5) × 104 (68% CL, statistical), while constraints for other trispectrum shapes are also determined. Exploiting the tight limits on various bispectrum and trispectrum shapes, we constrain the parameter space of different early-Universe scenarios that generate primordial NG, including general single-field models of inflation, multi-field models (e.g. curvaton models), models of inflation with axion fields producing parity-violation bispectra in the tensor sector, and inflationary models involving vector-like fields with directionally-dependent bispectra. Our results provide a high-precision test for structure-formation scenarios, showing complete agreement with the basic picture of the ΛCDM cosmology regarding the statistics of the initial conditions, with cosmic structures arising from adiabatic, passive, Gaussian, and primordial seed perturbations.Peer reviewe

Planck 2018 results : I. Overview and the cosmological legacy of Planck

The European Space Agency's Planck satellite, which was dedicated to studying the early Universe and its subsequent evolution, was launched on 14 May 2009. It scanned the microwave and submillimetre sky continuously between 12 August 2009 and 23 October 2013, producing deep, high-resolution, all-sky maps in nine frequency bands from 30 to 857 GHz. This paper presents the cosmological legacy of Planck, which currently provides our strongest constraints on the parameters of the standard cosmological model and some of the tightest limits available on deviations from that model. The 6-parameter Lambda CDM model continues to provide an excellent fit to the cosmic microwave background data at high and low redshift, describing the cosmological information in over a billion map pixels with just six parameters. With 18 peaks in the temperature and polarization angular power spectra constrained well, Planck measures five of the six parameters to better than 1% (simultaneously), with the best-determined parameter (theta (*)) now known to 0.03%. We describe the multi-component sky as seen by Planck, the success of the Lambda CDM model, and the connection to lower-redshift probes of structure formation. We also give a comprehensive summary of the major changes introduced in this 2018 release. The Planck data, alone and in combination with other probes, provide stringent constraints on our models of the early Universe and the large-scale structure within which all astrophysical objects form and evolve. We discuss some lessons learned from the Planck mission, and highlight areas ripe for further experimental advances.Peer reviewe

Planck 2018 results : XII. Galactic astrophysics using polarized dust emission

Observations of the submillimetre emission from Galactic dust, in both total intensity I and polarization, have received tremendous interest thanks to the Planck full-sky maps. In this paper we make use of such full-sky maps of dust polarized emission produced from the third public release of Planck data. As the basis for expanding on astrophysical studies of the polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust, we present full-sky maps of the dust polarization fraction p, polarization angle psi, and dispersion function of polarization angles ?. The joint distribution (one-point statistics) of p and N-H confirms that the mean and maximum polarization fractions decrease with increasing N-H. The uncertainty on the maximum observed polarization fraction, (max) = 22.0(-1.4)(+3.5) p max = 22 . 0 - 1.4 + 3.5 % at 353 GHz and 80 ' resolution, is dominated by the uncertainty on the Galactic emission zero level in total intensity, in particular towards diffuse lines of sight at high Galactic latitudes. Furthermore, the inverse behaviour between p and ? found earlier is seen to be present at high latitudes. This follows the ?proportional to p(-1) relationship expected from models of the polarized sky (including numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamical turbulence) that include effects from only the topology of the turbulent magnetic field, but otherwise have uniform alignment and dust properties. Thus, the statistical properties of p, psi, and ? for the most part reflect the structure of the Galactic magnetic field. Nevertheless, we search for potential signatures of varying grain alignment and dust properties. First, we analyse the product map ?xp, looking for residual trends. While the polarization fraction p decreases by a factor of 3-4 between N-H=10(20) cm(-2) and N-H=2x10(22) cm(-2), out of the Galactic plane, this product ?xp only decreases by about 25%. Because ? is independent of the grain alignment efficiency, this demonstrates that the systematic decrease in p with N-H is determined mostly by the magnetic-field structure and not by a drop in grain alignment. This systematic trend is observed both in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) and in molecular clouds of the Gould Belt. Second, we look for a dependence of polarization properties on the dust temperature, as we would expect from the radiative alignment torque (RAT) theory. We find no systematic trend of ?xp with the dust temperature T-d, whether in the diffuse ISM or in the molecular clouds of the Gould Belt. In the diffuse ISM, lines of sight with high polarization fraction p and low polarization angle dispersion ? tend, on the contrary, to have colder dust than lines of sight with low p and high ?. We also compare the Planck thermal dust polarization with starlight polarization data in the visible at high Galactic latitudes. The agreement in polarization angles is remarkable, and is consistent with what we expect from the noise and the observed dispersion of polarization angles in the visible on the scale of the Planck beam. The two polarization emission-to-extinction ratios, R-P/p and R-S/V, which primarily characterize dust optical properties, have only a weak dependence on the column density, and converge towards the values previously determined for translucent lines of sight. We also determine an upper limit for the polarization fraction in extinction, p(V)/E(B-V), of 13% at high Galactic latitude, compatible with the polarization fraction p approximate to 20% observed at 353 GHz. Taken together, these results provide strong constraints for models of Galactic dust in diffuse gas.Peer reviewe