Simulated Cosmic Microwave Background Maps at 0.5 degrees Resolution: Basic Results
Abstract
We have simulated full-sky maps of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy expected from cold dark matter (CDM) models at 0.5^deg^ and 1.0^deg^ angular resolution. Statistical properties of the maps are presented as a function of sky coverage, angular resolution, and instrument noise, and the implications of these results for observability of the Doppler peak are discussed. The rms fluctuations in a map are not a particularly robust probe of the existence of a Doppler peak; however, a full correlation analysis can provide reasonable sensitivity. We find that sensitivity to the Doppler peak depends primarily on the fraction of sky covered, and only secondarily on the angular resolution and noise level. Color plates of the simulated maps are presented to illustrate the anisotropies.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 1995
- DOI:
- 10.1086/187774
- Bibcode:
- 1995ApJ...441L...1H
- Keywords:
-
- Astronomical Models;
- Background Radiation;
- Big Bang Cosmology;
- Cosmic Rays;
- Dark Matter;
- Density Distribution;
- Microwaves;
- Power Spectra;
- Stochastic Processes;
- Angular Resolution;
- Anisotropy;
- Computerized Simulation;
- Correlation;
- Doppler Effect;
- Sky Surveys (Astronomy);
- White Noise;
- Astrophysics;
- COSMOLOGY: COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND;
- COSMOLOGY: OBSERVATIONS