M. Kaul

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Cosmological Parameters from the 2008 Power Spectrum

We present cosmological parameters derived from the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation observed at 148?GHz and 218?GHz over 296?deg2 with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) during its 2008 season. ACT measures fluctuations at scales 500 < ? < 10, 000. We fit a model for the lensed CMB, Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ), and foreground contribution to the 148?GHz and 218?GHz power spectra, including thermal and kinetic SZ, Poisson power from radio and infrared point sources, and clustered power from infrared point sources. At ? = 3000, about half the power at 148?GHz comes from primary CMB after masking bright radio sources. The power from thermal and kinetic SZ is estimated to be , where . The IR Poisson power at 148?GHz is (C ? = 5.5 ? 0.5 nK2), and a clustered IR component is required with , assuming an analytic model for its power spectrum shape. At 218?GHz only about 15% of the power, approximately 27 ?K2, is CMB anisotropy at ? = 3000. The remaining 85% is attributed to IR sources (approximately 50% Poisson and 35% clustered), with spectral index ? = 3.69 ? 0.14 for flux scaling as S(?)??. We estimate primary cosmological parameters from the less contaminated 148?GHz spectrum, marginalizing over SZ and source power. The ?CDM cosmological model is a good fit to the data (?2/dof = 29/46), and ?CDM parameters estimated from ACT+Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) are consistent with the seven-year WMAP limits, with scale invariant ns = 1 excluded at 99.7% confidence level (CL) (3?). A model with no CMB lensing is disfavored at 2.8?. By measuring the third to seventh acoustic peaks, and probing the Silk damping regime, the ACT data improve limits on cosmological parameters that affect the small-scale CMB power. The ACT data combined with WMAP give a 6? detection of primordial helium, with YP = 0.313 ? 0.044, and a 4? detection of relativistic species, assumed to be neutrinos, with N eff = 5.3 ? 1.3 (4.6 ? 0.8 with BAO+H 0 data). From the CMB alone the running of the spectral index is constrained to be dns /dln k = ?0.034 ? 0.018, the limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio is r < 0.25 (95% CL), and the possible contribution of Nambu cosmic strings to the power spectrum is constrained to string tension G? < 1.6 ? 10?7 (95% CL).

THE ATACAMA COSMOLOGY TELESCOPE: A MEASUREMENT OF THE 600 < ℓ < 8000 COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND POWER SPECTRUM AT 148 GHz

We present a measurement of the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation observed at 148 GHz. The measurement uses maps with 1.4 angular resolution made with data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The observations cover 228 deg(sup 2) of the southern sky, in a 4 deg. 2-wide strip centered on declination 53 deg. South. The CMB at arc minute angular scales is particularly sensitive to the Silk damping scale, to the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect from galaxy dusters, and to emission by radio sources and dusty galaxies. After masking the 108 brightest point sources in our maps, we estimate the power spectrum between 600 less than l less than 8000 using the adaptive multi-taper method to minimize spectral leakage and maximize use of the full data set. Our absolute calibration is based on observations of Uranus. To verify the calibration and test the fidelity of our map at large angular scales, we cross-correlate the ACT map to the WMAP map and recover the WMAP power spectrum from 250 less than l less than 1150. The power beyond the Silk damping tail of the CMB (l approximately 5000) is consistent with models of the emission from point sources. We quantify the contribution of SZ clusters to the power spectrum by fitting to a model normalized to sigma 8 = 0.8. We constrain the models amplitude A(sub sz) less than 1.63 (95% CL). If interpreted as a measurement of as, this implies sigma (sup SZ) (sub 8) less than 0.86 (95% CL) given our SZ model. A fit of ACT and WMAP five-year data jointly to a 6-parameter ACDM model plus point sources and the SZ effect is consistent with these results.

Overview of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope: receiver, instrumentation, and telescope systems

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope was designed to measure small-scale anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background and detect galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect. The instrument is located on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert, at an altitude of 5190 meters. A six-meter off-axis Gregorian telescope feeds a new type of cryogenic receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera. The receiver features three 1000-element arrays of transition-edge sensor bolometers for observations at 148GHz, 218GHz, and 277GHz. Each detector array is fed by free space mm-wave optics. Each frequency band has a field of view of approximately 22 × 26. The telescope was commissioned in 2007 and has completed its third year of operations. We discuss the major components of the telescope, camera, and related systems, and summarize the instrument performance. Subject headings: Microwave Telescopes, CMB ObservationsThe Atacama Cosmology Telescope was designed to measure small-scale anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background and detect galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. The instrument is located on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert, at an altitude of 5190 m. A 6 m off-axis Gregorian telescope feeds a new type of cryogenic receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera. The receiver features three 1000-element arrays of transition-edge sensor bolometers for observations at 148 GHz, 218 GHz, and 277 GHz. Each detector array is fed by free space millimeter-wave optics. Each frequency band has a field of view of approximately 22 × 26. The telescope was commissioned in 2007 and has completed its third year of operations. We discuss the major components of the telescope, camera, and related systems, and summarize the instrument performance.

Optical design of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the Millimeter Bolometric Array Camera

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a 6 m telescope designed to map the cosmic microwave background simultaneously at 145, 215, and 280 GHz with arcminute resolution. Each frequency will have a 32 by 32 element focal plane array of transition edge sensor bolometers. The telescope and the cold reimaging optics are optimized for millimeter-wave observations with these sensitive detectors. The design of each is described.

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT): beam profiles and first SZ cluster maps

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is currently observing the cosmic microwave background with arcminute resolution at 148 GHz, 218 GHz, and 277 GHz. In this paper, we present ACTs first results. Data have been analyzed using a maximum-likelihood map-making method which uses B-splines to model and remove the atmospheric signal. It has been used to make high-precision beam maps from which we determine the experiments window functions. This beam information directly impacts all subsequent analyses of the data. We also used the method to map a sample of galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect and show five clusters previously detected with X-ray or SZ observations. We provide integrated Compton-y measurements for each cluster. Of particular interest is our detection of the z = 0.44 component of A3128 and our current non-detection of the low-redshift part, providing strong evidence that the further cluster is more massive as suggested by X-ray measurements. This is a compelling example of the redshift-independent mass selection of the SZ effect.

Automated SQUID tuning procedure for kilo-pixel arrays of TES bolometers on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope observes the Cosmic Microwave Background with arcminute resolution from the Atacama desert in Chile. For the first observing season one array of 32 x 32 Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers was installed in the primary ACT receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC). In the next season, three independent arrays working at 145, 220 and 280 GHz will be installed in MBAC. The three bolometer arrays are each coupled to a time-domain multiplexer developed at the National Institute of Standard and Technology, Boulder, which comprises three stages of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). The arrays and multiplexers are read-out and controlled by the Multi Channel Electronics (MCE) developed at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. A number of experiments plan to use the MCE as read-out electronics and thus the procedure for tuning the three stage SQUID system is of general interest. Here we describe the automated array tuning procedures and algorithms we have developed. During array tuning, the SQUIDs are biased near their critical currents. SQUID feedback currents and lock points are selected to maximize linearity, dynamic range, and gain of the SQUID response curves. Our automatic array characterization optimizes the tuning of all three stages of SQUIDs by selecting over 1100 parameters per array during the first observing season and over 2100 parameters during the second observing season. We discuss the timing, performance, and reliability of this array tuning procedure as well as planned and recently implemented improvements.

Instrument design and characterization of the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC) was commissioned in the fall of 2007 on the new 6-meter Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The MBAC on the ACT will map the temperature anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with arc-minute resolution. For this first observing season, the MBAC contained a diffraction-limited, 32 by 32 element, focal plane array of Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers for observations at 145 GHz. This array was coupled to the telescope with a series of cold, refractive, reimaging optics. To meet the performance specifications, the MBAC employs four stages of cooling using closed-cycle 3He/4He sorption fridge systems in combination with pulse tube coolers. In this paper we present the design of the instrument and discuss its performance during the first observing season. Finally, we report on the status of the MBAC for the 2008 observing season, when the instrument will be upgraded to a total of three separate 1024-element arrays at 145 GHz, 220 GHz and 280 GHz.

Systems and control software for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is designed to measure temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at arcminute resolution. It is the first CMB experiment to employ a 32×32 close-packed array of free-space-coupled transition-edge superconducting bolometers. We describe the organization of the telescope systems and software for autonomous, scheduled operations. When paired with real-time data streaming and display, we are able to operate the telescope at the remote site in the Chilean Altiplano via the Internet from North America. The telescope had a data rate of 70 GB/day in the 2007 season, and the 2008 upgrade to three arrays will bring this to 210 GB/day.

Opto-mechanical design and performance of a compact three-frequency camera for the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The 6-meter Atacama Cosmology Telescope will map the cosmic microwave background at millimeter wavelengths. The commissioning instrument for the telescope, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera, is based on a refractive optical system which simultaneously images three separate fields of view at three different frequencies: 145, 220, and 280 GHz. Each frequency band contains around twelve individual optical elements at five different temperature stages ranging from 300 K to 300 mK and a 32 x 32 array of Transition Edge Sensor bolometers at 300 mK. We discuss the design of the close-packed on-axis optical design of the three frequencies. The thermal design and performance of the system are presented in the context of the scientific requirements and observing schedule. A major part of the design was the incorporation of multiple layers of magnetic shielding. We discuss the performance of the 145 GHz optical system in 2007 and the implementation of the additional two frequency channels in 2008.

The effects of the mechanical performance and alignment of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope on the sensitivity of microwave observations

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a six meter, off-axis Gregorian telescope for measuring the cosmic microwave background at arcminute resolutions. The Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC) is its current science instrument. Erected in the Atacama Desert of Chile in early 2007, it saw first light with the MBAC on 22 October 2007. In this paper we review its performance after one month of observing, focusing in particular on issues surrounding the alignment of the optical system that impact the sensitivity of the experiment. We discuss the telescope motion, pointing, and susceptibility to thermal distortions. We describe the mirror alignment procedure, which has yielded surface deviations of 31 μm rms on the primary and 10 μm rms on the secondary. Observations of planets show that the optical performance is consistent with the telescope design parameters. Preliminary analysis measures a solid angle of about 215 nanosteradians with a full width at half maximum of 1.44 arcminutes at 145 GHz.