C. D. Winant

MAXIMA-1: A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy on Angular Scales of 10'-5°

We present a map and an angular power spectrum of the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the first flight of MAXIMA. MAXIMA is a balloon-borne experiment with an array of 16 bolometric photometers operated at 100 mK. MAXIMA observed a 124 square degrees region of the sky with 10 arcminute resolution at frequencies of 150, 240 and 410 GHz. The data were calibrated using in-flight measurements of the CMB dipole anisotropy. A map of the CMB anisotropy was produced from three 150 and one 240 GHz photometer without need for foreground subtractions. Analysis of this CMB map yields a power spectrum for the CMB anisotropy over the range 36 < l < 785. The spectrum shows a peak with an amplitude of 78 +/- 6 micro-Kelvin at l ~ 220 and an amplitude varying between ~40 micro-Kelvin and ~50 micro-Kelvin for 400 < l < 785.

Cosmology from MAXIMA-1, BOOMERANG, and COBE DMR Cosmic Microwave Background Observations

Recent results from BOOMERANG-98 and MAXIMA-1, taken together with COBE DMR, provide consistent and high signal-to-noise measurements of the cosmic microwave background power spectrum at spherical harmonic multipole bands over 2<l less similar to 800. Analysis of the combined data yields 68% (95%) confidence limits on the total density, Omega(tot) approximately 1.11+/-0.07 (+0.13)(-0.12), the baryon density, Omega(b)h(2) approximately 0.032(+0.005)(-0.004) (+0.009)(-0.008), and the scalar spectral tilt, n(s) approximately 1.01(+0.09)(-0.07) (+0.17)(-0.14). These data are consistent with inflationary initial conditions for structure formation. Taken together with other cosmological observations, they imply the existence of both nonbaryonic dark matter and dark energy in the Universe.

Constraints on Cosmological Parameters from MAXIMA-1

We set new constraints on a seven-dimensional space of cosmological parameters within the class of inflationary adiabatic models. We use the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background measured over a wide range of l in the first flight of the MAXIMA balloon-borne experiment (MAXIMA-1) and the low-l results from the COBE Differential Microwave Radiometer experiment. We find constraints on the total energy density of the universe, Ω = 1.0img1.gif, the physical density of baryons, Ωbh2 = 0.03 ± 0.01, the physical density of cold dark matter, Ωcdmh2 = 0.2img2.gif, and the spectral index of primordial scalar fluctuations, ns = 1.08 ± 0.1, all at the 95% confidence level. By combining our results with measurements of high-redshift supernovae we constrain the value of the cosmological constant and the fractional amount of pressureless matter in the universe to 0.45 < ΩΛ < 0.75 and 0.25 < Ωm < 0.50, at the 95% confidence level. Our results are consistent with a flat universe and the shape parameter deduced from large-scale structure, and in marginal agreement with the baryon density from big bang nucleosynthesis.

Tests for Gaussianity of the MAXIMA-1 cosmic microwave background map

Gaussianity of the cosmological perturbations in the universe is one of the key predictions of standard inflation, but it is violated by other models of structure formation such as topological defects. We present the first test of the Gaussianity of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on sub-degree angular scales, where deviations from Gaussianity are most likely to occur. We apply the methods of moments, cumulants, the Kolmogorov test, the

Making maps of the cosmic microwave background: The MAXIMA example

\chi^2

Estimate of the Cosmological Bispectrum from the MAXIMA-1 Cosmic Microwave Background Map

test, and Minkowski functionals in eigen, real, Wiener-filtered and signal-whitened spaces, to the MAXIMA-1 CMB anisotropy data. We conclude that the data, which probe angular scales between 10 arcminutes and 5 degrees, are consistent with Gaussianity.

Multiple methods for estimating the bispectrum of the cosmic microwave background with application to the MAXIMA data

This work describes cosmic microwave background (CMB) data analysis algorithms and their implementations, developed to produce a pixelized map of the sky and a corresponding pixel-pixel noise correlation matrix from time ordered data for a CMB mapping experiment. We discuss in turn algorithms for estimating noise properties from the time ordered data, techniques for manipulating the time ordered data, and a number of variants of the maximum likelihood map-making procedure. We pay particular attention to issues pertinent to real CMB data, and present ways of incorporating them within the framework of maximum likelihood map making. Making a map of the sky is shown to be not only an intermediate step rendering an image of the sky, but also an important diagnostic stage, when tests for and/or removal of systematic effects can efficiently be performed. The case under study is the MAXEMA-I data set. However, the methods discussed are expected to be applicable to the analysis of other current and forthcoming CMB experiments.

MAXIPOL: a balloon-borne experiment for measuring the polarization anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation

We use the measurement of the cosmic microwave background taken during the MAXIMA-1 flight to estimate the bispectrum of cosmological perturbations. We propose an estimator for the bispectrum that is appropriate in the flat sky approximation, apply it to the MAXIMA-1 data, and evaluate errors using bootstrap methods. We compare the estimated value with what would be expected if the sky signal were Gaussian and find that it is indeed consistent, with a chi(2) per degree of freedom of approximately unity. This measurement places constraints on models of inflation.

Asymmetric Beams in Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Experiments

We describe different methods for estimating the bispectrum of cosmic microwave background data. In particular, we construct a minimum-variance estimator for the flat-sky limit and compare results with previously studied frequentist methods. Application to the MAXIMA data set shows consistency with primordial Gaussianity. Weak quadratic non-Gaussianity is characterized by a tunable parameter f (NL) , corresponding to non-Gaussianity at a level of similar to10(-5) f (NL) (the ratio of non-Gaussian to Gaussian terms), and we find limits of f (NL) = 1500 +/- 950 for the minimum-variance estimator and f (NL) = 2700 +/- 1650 for the usual frequentist estimator. These are the tightest limits on primordial non-Gaussianity, which include the full effects of the radiation transfer function.

Frequentist estimation of cosmological parameters from the MAXIMA-1 cosmic microwave background anisotropy data

We discuss MAXIPOL, a bolometric balloon-borne experiment designed to measure the E-mode polarization anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) on angular scales of 10′ to 2°. MAXIPOL is the first CMB experiment to collect data with a polarimeter that utilizes a rotating half-wave plate and fixed wire-grid polarizer. We present the instrument design, elaborate on the polarimeter strategy and show the instrument performance during flight with some time domain data. Our primary dataset was collected during a 26 h turnaround flight that was launched from the National Scientific Ballooning Facility in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico in May 2003. During this flight five regions of the sky were mapped. Data analysis is in progress.