Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “cosmic microwave background”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

Noise correlations in cosmic microwave background experiments

Many analysis of microwave background experiments neglect the correlation of noise in different frequency of polarization channels. We show that these correlations, should they be present, can lead to serve misinterpretation of an experiment. In particular, correlated noise arising from either electronics or atmosphere may mimic a cosmic signal. We quantify how the likelihood function for a given experiment varies with noise correlation, using both simple analytic models and actual data. For a typical microwave background anisotropy experiment, noise correlations at the level of 1% of the overall noise can seriously reduce the significance of a given detection.

Dodelson, Scott↗

SPT-3G D1: A Measurement of Secondary Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Power

We report new measurements of millimeter-wave temperature power spectra in the angular multipole range $1700 \le \ell \le 11,000$ (wavelengths $13^\prime \gtrsim λ\gtrsim 2^\prime$). We use two years of data in three observing bands centered near 95, 150, and 220 GHz from the SPT-3G receiver on the South Pole Telescope that cover a 1646 deg$^2$ region of the Southern sky. Using the measured power spectra, we present constraints on the thermal and kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effects, radio galaxies, and cosmic infrared background (CIB). We find that inferred SZ powers are dependent on the detailed modeling of the thermal SZ-CIB correlation, and to a lesser extent on the assumed angular dependence of the SZ spectra. We report constraints for simulation-based model templates as well as fits where the angular dependencies of the SZ and CIB power spectra are allowed to vary. In the latter case at $\ell=3000$, we find thermal SZ power at 143 GHz of $D_{3000}^{\rm tSZ} = 4.91\pm0.37\, μ{\rm K}^2$ and kinematic SZ power of $D_{3000}^{\rm kSZ} =1.75\pm0.86\, μ{\rm K}^2$. We use the measured kinematic SZ power to estimate the duration of reionization, noting that the reionization inferences are sensitive to the model choices and assumed level of homogeneous kinematic SZ power from the late-time universe. We find a 95% limit on the duration from an ionization fraction of 25% to 75% of $Δ^{50} z_{\rm re} <\,3.8$ based on a semi-analytic model, or a limit on the duration from an ionization fraction of 5% to 95% of $Δ^{90} z_{\rm re} <\,6.1$ based on the AMBER simulations.

Chaubal, P. [Melbourne U.]↗

Translational anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation and far-infrared emission by galactic dust clouds

The predicted emission spectrum of galactic dust at about 10 K is compared with the spectrum of 2.8-K universal blackbody radiation and with the spectrum of the anisotropy expected in the 2.8-K radiation due to motion of earth with respect to the coordinate system in which the radiation was last scattered. The extremely anisotropic galactic-dust emission spectrum may contribute a significant background to anisotropy measurements which scan through the galactic plane. The contamination would appear in an 8-mm scan around the celestial equator, for example, as a spurious 200 km/s velocity toward declination 0 deg, right ascension 19 hr, if predictions are correct. The predicted spectrum of dust emission in the galactic plane at longitudes not exceeding about 30 deg falls below the total 2.8-K cosmic background intensity at wavelengths of at least 1 mm.

Forman, M. A.↗

Mapping Dark Matter on Small Scales with the Cosmic Microwave Background (Final Report)

Sehgal was funded by DOE Grant DE-SC0020441 over the period from 11/1/2019 - 04/30/2024 (no remaining funds are anticipated). Most recently, Sehgal and her group completed a publication forecasting cosmological parameter constraints for a CMB-HD survey, in addition to SO and CMB-S4 (1). One focus of this work was determining the improvement in parameter constraints when removing the gravitational lensing effect from the primordial CMB (a process called delensing). This work also explored the bias to parameters from neglecting baryonic effects, and ways to mitigate that. In addition, this work highlighted that a CMB-HD N eff measurement could tightly constrain the QCD axion in a modelindependent way (see left panel of Figure 1). Sehgal also developed a novel way to probe inflation via CMB experiments by measuring inflationary magnetic fields (IMFs) (2). IMFs are thought to seed the large magnetic fields we observe in galaxies today, and can be measured by looking for anisotropic rotation of the CMB polarization vectors across the sky (an effect called cosmic birefringence). The cosmic birefringence from IMFs has a unique frequency dependence, allowing it to be separated from other sources of cosmic birefringence. In (2), Sehgal and her postdoc also presented a novel way to remove foreground contamination from Galactic magnetic fields using measurements of the polarization of nearby radio sources. The removal of this Galactic contamination is necessary when measuring IMFs at the level of 0.1 nG; IMFs with a strength of at least 0.1 nG are needed to seed the magnetic fields in galaxies we observe today. Since only inflation can generate such a strong magnetic field, measuring such a signal would be a “smoking gun” signature that inflation occurred. Sehgal showed in (2) that CMB-HD could detect such IMFs with at least 3σ significance (see right panel of Figure 1).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: a measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background power spectra at 98 and 150 GHz

We present the temperature and polarization angular power spectra of the CMB measured by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) from 5400 deg2 of the 2013–2016 survey, which covers >15000 deg2 at 98 and 150 GHz. For this analysis we adopt a blinding strategy to help avoid confirmation bias and, related to this, show numerous checks for systematic error done before unblinding. Using the likelihood for the cosmological analysis we constrain secondary sources of anisotropy and foreground emission, and derive a “CMB-only” spectrum that extends to ℓ=4000. At large angular scales, foreground emission at 150 GHz is ∼1% of TT and EE within our selected regions and consistent with that found by Planck. Using the same likelihood, we obtain the cosmological parameters for ΛCDM for the ACT data alone with a prior on the optical depth of τ=0.065±0.015. ΛCDM is a good fit. The best-fit model has a reduced χ2 of 1.07 (PTE=0.07) with H0=67.9±1.5 km/s/Mpc. We show that the lensing BB signal is consistent with ΛCDM and limit the celestial EB polarization angle to ψP =−0.07ˆ±0.09ˆ. We directly cross correlate ACT with Planck and observe generally good agreement but with some discrepancies in TE. All data on which this analysis is based will be publicly released.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Interpretation of observed cosmic microwave background radiation

It is argued that the 'surface of last scattering' of the observed microwave background radiation corresponds to the distribution of dust in galaxies or protogalaxies with a temperature of about 110 K at the epoch corresponding to Z roughly equal to 40. This is in contrast with the plasma temperature of over 3,000 K at an earlier epoch (Z greater than about 1,000), as given by the canonical model of big bang cosmologies. In view of this, the claim that the microwave background radiation lends strong support to hot big bang cosmologies is without foundation.

Alfven, H.↗

A precise measurement of the cosmic microwave background radiation temperature from CN observations toward Zeta Persei

High-SNR high-resolution (R = 150,000-170,000) optical spectra of interstellar CN toward Zeta Per are presented. Fits to the data yield a value of 1.25 + or - 0.02 km/s for the R(O) linewidth parameter b along this line of sight. The column densities of the level populations are directly determined from the convolution of the instrument response function with a model which is then fitted to the data. Tex = 2.79 + or - 0.03 K is obtained along this line of sight.

Kaiser, Mary Elizabeth↗

Preliminary results from the COBE differential microwave radiometers - Large angular scale isotropy of the cosmic microwave background

Preliminary but precise micowave maps are presented of the sky, and thus of the early universe, derived as the first results from the Differential Microwave Radiometers experiment aboard COBE. The dipole anisotropy attributed to the motion of the solar system with respect to the CMB reference frame shows strongly in all six sky maps and is consistent with a Doppler-shifted thermal spectrum. The best-fitted dipole has amplitude 3.3 + or - 0.2 mK in the direction (alpha, delta) = 11.2 h + or - 0.2 h, -7 deg + or - 2 deg (J2000) or (l,b) = 265 deg + or - 2 deg, 48 deg + or - 2 deg. There is no clear evidence in the maps for any other large angular-scale feature. Limits on Delta T/T0 of 3 x 10 to the -5th (T0 = 2.735 K), 4 x 10 to the -5th, and 4 x 10 to the -5th are found for the rms quadrupole amplitude, monochromatic fluctuations, and Gaussian fluctuations, respectively. These measurements place the most severe constraints to date on many potential physical processes in the early universe.

Smoot, G. F.↗

Limits on cold dark matter cosmologies from new anisotropy bounds on the cosmic microwave background

A self-consistent method is presented for comparing theoretical predictions of and observational upper limits on CMB anisotropy. New bounds on CDM cosmologies set by the UCSB South Pole experiment on the 1 deg angular scale are presented. An upper limit of 4.0 x 10 to the -5th is placed on the rms differential temperature anisotropy to a 95 percent confidence level and a power of the test beta = 55 percent. A lower limit of about 0.6/b is placed on the density parameter of cold dark matter universes with greater than about 3 percent baryon abundance and a Hubble constant of 50 km/s/Mpc, where b is the bias factor, equal to unity only if light traces mass.

Vittorio, Nicola↗