A constraint on primordial B-modes from the first flight of the spider balloon-borne telescope
File(s)Ade_2022_ApJ_927_174.pdf (2.42 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We present the first linear polarization measurements from the 2015
long-duration balloon flight of SPIDER, an experiment designed to map the
polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on degree angular scales.
Results from these measurements include maps and angular power spectra from
observations of 4.8% of the sky at 95 and 150 GHz, along with the results of
internal consistency tests on these data. While the polarized CMB anisotropy
from primordial density perturbations is the dominant signal in this region of
sky, Galactic dust emission is also detected with high significance; Galactic
synchrotron emission is found to be negligible in the SPIDER bands. We employ
two independent foreground-removal techniques in order to explore the
sensitivity of the cosmological result to the assumptions made by each. The
primary method uses a dust template derived from Planck data to subtract the
Galactic dust signal. A second approach, employing a joint analysis of SPIDER
and Planck data in the harmonic domain, assumes a modified-blackbody model for
the spectral energy distribution of the dust with no constraint on its spatial
morphology. Using a likelihood that jointly samples the template amplitude and
$r$ parameter space, we derive 95% upper limits on the primordial
tensor-to-scalar ratio from Feldman-Cousins and Bayesian constructions, finding
$r<0.11$ and $r<0.19$, respectively. Roughly half the uncertainty in $r$
derives from noise associated with the template subtraction. New data at 280
GHz from SPIDER's second flight will complement the Planck polarization maps,
providing powerful measurements of the polarized Galactic dust emission.
long-duration balloon flight of SPIDER, an experiment designed to map the
polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on degree angular scales.
Results from these measurements include maps and angular power spectra from
observations of 4.8% of the sky at 95 and 150 GHz, along with the results of
internal consistency tests on these data. While the polarized CMB anisotropy
from primordial density perturbations is the dominant signal in this region of
sky, Galactic dust emission is also detected with high significance; Galactic
synchrotron emission is found to be negligible in the SPIDER bands. We employ
two independent foreground-removal techniques in order to explore the
sensitivity of the cosmological result to the assumptions made by each. The
primary method uses a dust template derived from Planck data to subtract the
Galactic dust signal. A second approach, employing a joint analysis of SPIDER
and Planck data in the harmonic domain, assumes a modified-blackbody model for
the spectral energy distribution of the dust with no constraint on its spatial
morphology. Using a likelihood that jointly samples the template amplitude and
$r$ parameter space, we derive 95% upper limits on the primordial
tensor-to-scalar ratio from Feldman-Cousins and Bayesian constructions, finding
$r<0.11$ and $r<0.19$, respectively. Roughly half the uncertainty in $r$
derives from noise associated with the template subtraction. New data at 280
GHz from SPIDER's second flight will complement the Planck polarization maps,
providing powerful measurements of the polarized Galactic dust emission.
Date Issued
2022-03-14
Date Acceptance
2021-08-15
Citation
The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 2022, 927 (2), pp.1-26
ISSN
0004-637X
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Start Page
1
End Page
26
Journal / Book Title
The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics
Volume
927
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2022. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
License URL
Sponsor
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Identifier
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ac20df
Grant Number
ST/P000762/1
ST/S000372/1
Subjects
astro-ph.CO
astro-ph.CO
Notes
29 pages, 13 figures
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-03-14