Detection of cosmic microwave background structure in a second field with the Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope
Abstract
We describe observations at frequencies near 15GHz of the second 2x2deg^2 field imaged with the Cambridge Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope (CAT). After the removal of discrete radio sources, structure is detected in the images on characteristic scales of about half a degree, corresponding to spherical harmonic multipoles in the range l~330-680. A Bayesian analysis confirms that the signal arises predominantly from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation for multipoles in the lower half of this range; the average broad-band power in a bin with centroid l=422 (θ~51arcmin) is estimated to be ΔTT 2.1-0.5+0.4 x10-5. For multipoles centred on l=615 (θ~35arcmin), we find contamination from Galactic emission is significant, and constrain the CMB contribution to the measured power in this bin to be ΔTT<2.0x10^-5 (1σ upper limit). These new results are consistent with the first detection made by CAT in a completely different area of sky. Together with data from other experiments, this new CAT detection adds weight to earlier evidence from CAT for a downturn in the CMB power spectrum on scales smaller than 1deg. Improved limits on the values of H0 and Ω are determined using the new CAT data.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- October 1999
- DOI:
- 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02829.x
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/9904415
- Bibcode:
- 1999MNRAS.308.1173B
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 5 pages, 5 figures (gif), submitted to MNRAS