Secondary Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies Research Articles

A Cross-internal Linear Combination Approach to Probe the Secondary CMB Anisotropies: Kinematic Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Effect and CMB Lensing

We propose a cross-internal linear combination (cross-ILC) approach to measure the small-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies robustly against the contamination from astrophysical signals. In particular, we focus on the mitigation of systematics from cosmic infrared background (CIB) and thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (tSZ) signals in kinematic Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (kSZ) power spectrum and CMB lensing. We show the cross-spectrum measurement between two CMB maps created by nulling the contributions from CIB (CIB-free map) and tSZ (tSZ-free map) to be robust for kSZ, as the approach significantly suppresses the total contribution of CIB and tSZ signals. Similarly, for CMB lensing, we use the approach introduced by Madhavacheril & Hill but with a slight modification by using the tSZ-free and CIB-free maps in the two legs of the quadratic estimator. By cross-correlating the CMB lensing map created using this technique with galaxy surveys, we show that the biases from both CIB and tSZ are negligible. We also compute the impact of unmodeled CIB/tSZ residuals on kSZ and cosmological parameters, finding the kSZ measured using the standard ILC to be significantly biased. The kSZ estimate from the cross-ILC remains less affected by CIB/tSZ, making it crucial for current and upcoming CMB surveys such as the South Pole Telescope (SPT), Simons Observatory (SO), and CMB-S4. With the cross-ILC approach, we find that the total kSZ power spectrum can be measured at very high significance in the coming years: 35σ by SPT, 22σ by SO, and 80σ by CMB-S4. Finally, we forecast constraints on the epoch of reionization using the kSZ power spectrum and find that the duration of reionization, currently unconstrained by Planck, can be constrained to = 1.5 or 0.5 depending on the choice of the prior on the optical depth to reionization. The data products and the associated codes can be downloaded from this link (https://github.com/sriniraghunathan/cross_ilc_methods_paper).

The non-thermal secondary CMB anisotropies from a cosmic distribution of radio galaxy lobes

ABSTRACT Current and upcoming high angular resolution and multifrequency experiments are well poised to explore the rich landscape of secondary cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. In this context, we compute, for the first time, the power spectrum of CMB fluctuations from a cosmological distribution of evolving lobes of giant radio galaxies. We also explicitly take into account the non-thermal electron distribution, which has important implications for the inference of the CMB angular power spectrum. We calculate the mean global non-thermal y-distortion, 〈y〉NT. For observationally reasonable distribution of the jet luminosities in the range of 1045–1047 erg s−1, we find 〈y〉NT to be less than 10−5, and hence not violating the cosmic background explorer limit as previously claimed. Using the unique spectral dependence of the non-thermal Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ), we show that a detection of 〈y〉NT can be within reach at the level of ≳5σ from a future Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE)-like experiment provided we understand the foregrounds precisely. The total non-thermal SZ power spectrum, $C^{\mathrm{ NT}}_\ell$, from the radio lobes peaks at ℓ ∼ 3000 with an amplitude $\sim 1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of thermal SZ power spectrum from galaxy clusters. A detection of the $C^{\mathrm{ NT}}_\ell$, with a PIXIE-like sensitivity experiment, can lead to ∼5σ constraint on the mass dependence of the jet luminosity with the constraint becoming at least ten times better for the proposed more ambitious CMB-HD survey. This will further lead to the tightest constraint on the central black hole mass-to-host halo mass scaling relations.

The benefits of CMB delensing

The effects of gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have been measured at high significance with existing data and will be measured even more precisely in future surveys. Reversing the effects of lensing on the observed CMB temperature and polarization maps provides a variety of benefits. Delensed CMB spectra have sharper acoustic peaks and more prominent damping tails, allowing for improved inferences of cosmological parameters that impact those features. Delensing reduces B-mode power, aiding the search for primordial gravitational waves and allowing for lower variance reconstruction of lensing and other sources of secondary CMB anisotropies. Lensing-induced power spectrum covariances are reduced by delensing, simplifying analyses and improving constraints on primordial non-Gaussianities. Biases that result from incorrectly modeling nonlinear and baryonic feedback effects on the lensing power spectrum are mitigated by delensing. All of these benefits are possible without any changes to experimental or survey design. We develop a self-consistent, iterative, all-orders treatment of CMB delensing on the curved sky and demonstrate the impact that delensing will have with future surveys.

Reconstructing patchy reionization with deep learning

The precision anticipated from next-generation cosmic microwave background (CMB) surveys will create opportunities for characteristically new insights into cosmology. Secondary anisotropies of the CMB will have an increased importance in forthcoming surveys, due both to the cosmological information they encode and the role they play in obscuring our view of the primary fluctuations. Quadratic estimators have become the standard tools for reconstructing the fields that distort the primary CMB and produce secondary anisotropies. While successful for lensing reconstruction with current data, quadratic estimators will be suboptimal for the reconstruction of lensing and other effects at the expected sensitivity of the upcoming CMB surveys. In this paper we describe a convolutional neural network, ResUNet-CMB, that is capable of the simultaneous reconstruction of two sources of secondary CMB anisotropies, gravitational lensing and patchy reionization. We show that the ResUNet-CMB network significantly outperforms the quadratic estimator at low noise levels and is not subject to the lensing-induced bias on the patchy reionization reconstruction that would be present with a straightforward application of the quadratic estimator.

An Improved Measurement of the Secondary Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies from the SPT-SZ + SPTpol Surveys

Abstract We report new measurements of millimeter-wave power spectra in the angular multipole range 2000 ≤ ℓ ≤ 11,000 (angular scales ). By adding 95 and 150 GHz data from the low-noise 500 deg2 SPTpol survey to the SPT-SZ three-frequency 2540 deg2 survey, we substantially reduce the uncertainties in these bands. These power spectra include contributions from the primary cosmic microwave background, cosmic infrared background, radio galaxies, and thermal and kinematic Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effects. The data favor a thermal SZ (tSZ) power at 143 GHz of and a kinematic SZ (kSZ) power of . This is the first measurement of kSZ power at ≥3σ. However, different assumptions about the CIB or SZ models can reduce the significance down to 2.4σ in the worst case. We study the implications of the measured kSZ power for the epoch of reionization under the Calabrese et al. model for the kSZ power spectrum and find the duration of reionization to be ( at 95% confidence), when combined with our previously published tSZ bispectrum measurement. The upper limit tightens to if the assumed homogeneous kSZ power is increased by 25% (∼0.5 μK2) and relaxes to if the homogeneous kSZ power is decreased by the same amount.

To the problem of the secondary CMB anisotropy separation

We study contribution to the secondary anisotropy maps of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation which difficult to account for faint sources. Two effects are investigated. They are the Sunyaev–Zeldovich effect connected with the inverse Compton scattering of CMB photons on hot electrons of cluster of galaxies, and contamination of the background by weak extragalctic sources. First, we study fields of the Planck CMB maps around radio sources of the RATAN-600 catalog. We see weak microwave sources which make an additional contribution to the secondary anisotropy on angular small scales (< 7′). An algorithm for selecting candidate objects with the Sunyaev–Zeldovich effect was proposed, based on the use of data on the radio spectral indices and the signal in cosmic-microwave background maps. Second, applying the stacking method, we examine the areas of the CMB maps, constructed according to the Planck Space Observatory data in the neighborhood of different populations of radio sources and giant elliptical galaxies. The samples of objects include giant radio galaxies (GRG), radio sources, selected by the radio spectral index and redshift, as well as the gammaray bursts, used as a secondary comparative sample. The signal from this objects exists on CMB maps and its difference in the neighborhood of GRGs from the other types of objects was discovered.

Secondary anisotropies in CMB, skew-spectra and Minkowski Functionals

Secondary contributions to the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), such as the integrated Sachs–Wolfe (ISW) effect, the thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (tSZ) effect, and the effect of gravitational lensing, have distinctive non-Gaussian signatures, and full descriptions therefore require information beyond that contained in their power spectra. The Minkowski Functionals (MF) are well-known as tools for quantifying any departure from Gaussianity and are affected by noise and other sources of confusion in a differentway from the usual methods based on higher-order moments or polyspectra, thus providing complementary tools for CMB analysis and cross-validation of results. In this paper we use the recently introduced skew-spectra associated with the MFs to probe the topology of CMB maps to probe the secondary non-Gaussianity as a function of beam smoothing in order to separate various contributions. We devise estimators for these spectra in the presence of realistic observational masks and present expressions for their covariance as a function of instrumental noise. Specific results are derived for the mixed ISW-lensing and tSZ-lensing bispectra as well as contamination due to point sources for noise levels that correspond to the Planck (143 GHz channel) and Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC; 150 GHz channel) experiments. The cumulative signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for one-point generalized skewness parameters can reach an order of O(10) for Planck and two orders of magnitude higher forEPIC, i.e. O(103). We also find that these three skew-spectra are correlated, having correlation coefficients r ∼ 0.5–1.0; higher l modes are more strongly correlated. Although the values of S/N increase with decreasing noise, the triplets of skew-spectra that determine the MFs become more correlated; the S/N of lensing-induced skew-spectra are smaller compared to that of a frequency-cleaned tSZ map.

The South Pole Telescope: Latest Results and Future Prospects

AbstractThe South Pole Telescope is a 10 meter telescope optimized for sensitive, high-resolution measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy and millimeter-wavelength sky. In November 2011, the SPT completed the 2500 deg2 SPT-SZ survey. The survey has led to several major cosmological results, derived from measurements of the fine angular scale primary and secondary CMB anisotropies, the discovery of galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect and the resulting mass-limited cluster catalog, and the discovery of a population of distant, dusty star forming galaxies (DSFGs). In January 2012, the SPT was equipped with a new polarization sensitive camera, SPTpol, which will enable detection of the contribution to the CMB polarization power spectrum from lensing by large scale structure (the so-called “lensing B-modes”) and, on larger angular scales, a detection or improved upper limit on the primordial inflationary signal (“gravitational-wave B-modes”), thereby constraining the energy scale of Inflation. Development is underway for SPT-3G, the third-generation camera for SPT. The SPT-3G survey will cross the threshold from statistical detection of B-mode CMB lensing to imaging the fluctuations at high signal-to-noise; enabling the separation of lensing and inflationary B-modes and improving the constraint on the sum of the neutrino masses Σmν to a level relevant for exploring the neutrino mass hierarchy.

Compressed sensing reconstruction of a string signal from interferometric observations of the cosmic microwave background

We propose an algorithm for the reconstruction of the signal induced by cosmic strings in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), from radio-interferometric data at arcminute resolution. Radio interferometry provides incomplete and noisy Fourier measurements of the string signal, which exhibits sparse or compressible magnitude of the gradient due to the Kaiser-Stebbins (KS) effect. In this context the versatile framework of compressed sensing naturally applies for solving the corresponding inverse problem. Our algorithm notably takes advantage of a model of the prior statistical distribution of the signal fitted on the basis of realistic simulations. Enhanced performance relative to the standard CLEAN algorithm is demonstrated by simulated observations under noise conditions including primary and secondary CMB anisotropies.

Wavelet domain Bayesian denoising of string signal in the cosmic microwave background

An algorithm is proposed for denoising the signal induced by cosmic strings in the cosmic microwave background. A Bayesian approach is taken, based on modelling the string signal in the wavelet domain with generalized Gaussian distributions. Good performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by simulated experiments at arcminute resolution under noise conditions including primary and secondary cosmic microwave background anisotropies, as well as instrumental noise.

CONSTRAINTS ON THE HIGH-ℓ POWER SPECTRUM OF MILLIMETER-WAVE ANISOTROPIES FROM APEX-SZ

We present measurements of the angular power spectrum of millimeter wave anisotropies with the APEX-SZ instrument. APEX-SZ has mapped 0.8 deg(2) of sky at a frequency of 150 GHz with an angular resolution of 1('). These new measurements significantly improve the constraints on anisotropy power at 150 GHz over the range of angular multipoles 3000 < l < 10, 000, limiting the total astronomical signal in a flat band power to be less than 105 μK(2) at 95% CL. We expect both submillimeter-bright, dusty galaxies and to a lesser extent secondary cosmic microwave background anisotropies from the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) to significantly contribute to the observed power. Subtracting the SZE power spectrum expected for σ(8) = 0.8 and masking bright sources, the best-fit value for the remaining power is C( l) = 1.1(+0.9) (–0.8) × 10(–5) μK(2) (1.7(+1.4)( –1.3) Jy(2) sr(–1)). This agrees well with model predictions for power due to submillimeter-bright, dusty galaxies. Comparing this power to the power detected by BLAST at 600 GHz, we find the frequency dependence of the source fluxes to be if both Sv ∝ v^(2.6 (0.4)/-0.2)) experiments measure the same population of sources. Simultaneously fitting for the amplitude of the SZE power spectrum and a Poisson-distributed point source population, we place an upper limit on the matter fluctuation amplitude of σ(8) < 1.18 at 95% confidence.

Full-sky maps for gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background

We use the large cosmological Millennium Simulation (MS) to construct the first all-sky maps of the lensing potential and the angle, aiming at gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with the goal of properly including small-scale non-linearities and non-Gaussianity. Exploiting the Born approximation, we implement a map-making procedure based on direct ray tracing through the gravitational potential of the MS. We stack the simulation box in redshift shells up to z ∼ 11, producing continuous all-sky maps with arcmin angular resolution. A randomization scheme avoids the repetition of structures along the line of sight, and structures larger than the MS box size are added to supply the missing contribution of large-scale (LS) structures to the lensing signal. The angular power spectra of the projected lensing potential and the deflection-angle modulus agree quite well with semi-analytic estimates on scales down to a few arcmin, while we find a slight excess of power on small scales, which we interpret as being due to non-linear clustering in the MS. Our map-making procedure, combined with the LS adding technique, is ideally suited for studying lensing of CMB anisotropies, for analysing cross-correlations with foreground structures, or other secondary CMB anisotropies such as the Rees-Sciama effect.

Reionization history from coupled cosmic microwave background/21-cm line data

We study cosmic microwave background (CMB) secondary anisotropies produced by inhomogeneous reionization by means of cosmological simulations coupled with the radiative transfer code CRASH. The reionization history is consistent with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe Thomson optical depth determination. We find that the signal arising from this process dominates over the primary CMB component for l? 4000 and reaches a maximum amplitude of l(l + 1)C l /2π ≃ 1.6 x 10 -13 on arcmin scales (i.e. / as large as several thousands). We then cross-correlate secondary CMB anisotropy maps with neutral hydrogen 21-cm line emission fluctuations obtained from the same simulations. The two signals are highly anticorrelated on angular scales corresponding to the typical size of H II regions (including overlapping) at the 21-cm map redshift. We show how the CMB/21-cm cross-correlation can be used: (i) to study the nature of the reionization sources; (ii) to reconstruct the cosmic reionization history; (iii) to infer the mean cosmic ionization level at any redshift. We discuss the feasibility of the proposed experiment with forthcoming facilities.

Extragalactic contributions to the CMB signal

One of the main challenges facing upcoming Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments aiming at measuring temperature anisotropies with great accuracy will be to assess the contamination of CMB measurements by galactic and extragalactic foregrounds. On the extragalactic side, confusion noise from extragalactic sources hampers the detection of intrinsic CMB anisotropies at small angular scales. Secondary CMB anisotropies must also be carefully accounted for in order to isolate the primordial fluctuations. We present in this article a brief overview of the extragalactic contributions to the CMB. The galactic foregrounds are discussed elsewhere (Giard and Lagache, this issue). To cite this article: G. Lagache, N. Aghanim, C. R. Physique 4 (2003).

On the Cross‐Correlation between Dark Matter Distribution and Secondary Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies of the Ionized Intergalactic Medium

We investigate a cross-correlation between the weak gravitational lensing field of the large-scale structure κ and the secondary temperature fluctuation field Δ of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) induced by Thomson scattering of CMB photons off the ionized medium in the mildly nonlinear structure. The cross-correlation is expected to observationally unveil the biasing relation between the dark matter and ionized medium distributions in the large-scale structure. We develop a formalism for calculating the cross-correlation function and its angular power spectrum based on the small angle approximation. As a result, we find that the leading contribution to the cross-correlation comes from the secondary CMB fluctuation field induced by the quadratic Doppler effects of the bulk velocity field v of the ionized medium since the cross-correlations with the O(v) Doppler effect and the Ostriker-Vishniac effect of O(vδ) are suppressed on relevant angular scales because the linear dependence on the bulk velocity field leads to cancellations between positive and negative contributions among the scatterers for the ensemble average. The magnitude of the cross-correlation can be estimated as κΔ ~ 10-10 on small angular scales (l 1000) under the currently favored cold dark matter model of the structure formation and the simplest scenario of homogeneous reionization after a given redshift of zion 5. Although the magnitude turns out to be small, we find several interesting aspects of the effect. One of them is that the density-modulated quadratic Doppler effect of O(δev2) produces the cross-correlation with the weak lensing field that has linear dependence on the electron density fluctuation field δe or, equivalently, on the biasing relation between the dark matter and electron distributions. In other words, the angular power spectrum could be either positive or negative, depending on the positive biasing or antibiasing, respectively. Detection of the cross-correlation thus offers a new opportunity to observationally understand the reionization history of intergalactic medium connected to the dark matter clustering.

Probing the Evolution of the Gas Mass Fraction with the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect

Study of the primary anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) can be used to determine the cosmological parameters to a very high precision. The power spectrum of the secondary CMB anisotropies due to the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) by clusters of galaxies, can then be studied, to constrain more cluster specific properties (like gas mass). We show the SZE power spectrum from clusters to be a sensitive probe of any possible evolution (or constancy) of the gas mass fraction. The position of the peak of the SZE power spectrum is a strong discriminatory signature of different gas mass fraction evolution models. For example, for a flat universe, there can be a difference in the $l$ values (of the peak) of {\it as much as 3000} between a constant gas mass fraction model and an evolutionary one. Moreover, observational determination of power spectrum, from blank sky surveys, is devoid of any selection effects that can possibly affect targeted X-ray or radio studies of gas mass fractions in galaxy clusters.