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Lung-Yih Chiang

Publications and source records attributed to Lung-Yih Chiang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Large-scale acoustic peak shift in the Planck CMB data

Cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies encode the history of the universe, which manifest itself in the angular power spectrum. We test the angular power spectra of small patches from the ESA $\textit{Planck}$ data. Known variations in the power spectra from small patches reveal informative details such as the gravitational lensing and the Doppler boosting effect. We compute the relative shifts of power spectra via comparing patches selected randomly from the CMB. We visualize the relative shifts on a full-sky HEALPix grid (a feature map) and analyze the statistical properties on the full-sky map. We find the regions contain the Cold Spot and the Draco supervoid have large relative shifts to large scales. We also find a dipole on the generated feature map comparing with simulations. We discuss possible ways to resolve this dipole on the feature map, including foregrounds, solar dipole systematics, and the uncertainty in our method.

astro-ph.CO

Excessive shift of the CMB acoustic peaks of the Cold Spot area

Measurement of the acoustic peaks of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies has been instrumental in deciding the geometry and content of the universe. Acoustic peak positions vary in different parts of the sky due to statistical fluctuation. We present the statistics of the peak positions of small patches from ESA Planck data. We found that the peak positions have significantly high variance compared to the 100 CMB simulations with best-fit LambdaCDM model with lensing and Doppler boosting effects included. Examining individual patches, we found the one containing the mysterious "Cold Spot", an area near the Eridanus constellation where the temperature is significantly lower than Gaussian theory predicts, displays large synchronous shift of peak positions towards smaller multipole numbers with significance lower than 1.11x 10^{-4}. The combination of large synchronous shifts in acoustic peaks and lower than usual temperature at the Cold Spot area results in a 4.73-sigma detection (significance p~ 1.11x 10^{-6}) against the LambdaCDM model. And it was already reported in Finelli et al. (2016) that in the WISE-2MASS galaxy catalog at z<0.3 the Cold Spot region is surrounded by surprisingly large underdense regions around 15 degs in radius, which are found to be in the same square patch. Thus we propose there is some extra localized unknown energy to stretch out the space in the transverse direction around the Cold Spot area to simultaneously account for the Cold Spot, excessive shift of the acoustic peaks, and the large underdense regions.

astro-ph.CO

Asymmetry and non-random orientation of the inflight effective beam pattern in the WMAP Data

The anomaly against the Gaussianity in the WMAP data was alleged to be due to insufficient handling of beam asymmetries. In this paper we investigate this issue and develop a method to estimate the shape of the inflight effective beam, particularly the asymmetry and azimuthal orientation. We divide the whole map into square patches and exploit the information in the Fourier space. For patches containing bright extra-galactic point sources, we can directly estimate their shapes, from which the inflight effective beam manifests itself. For those without, we estimate the pattern via perturbing the phases and directly from the Fourier amplitudes. We show that the inflight effective beam convolving the signal is indeed non-symmetric for most part of the sky, and it's not randomly oriented. Around the ecliptic poles, however, the asymmetry is smaller due to the averaging effect from different orientations of the beam from the scan strategy. The effective beam with significant asymmetry is combing with almost parallel fashion along the lines of Ecliptic longitude. In the foreground-cleaned ILC map, however, the systematics caused by beam effect is significantly lessened.

astro-ph.CO

Direct measurement of the angular power spectrum of cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies in the WMAP Data

Angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies is one of the most important on characteristics of the Universe such as its geometry and total density. Using flat sky approximation and Fourier analysis, we estimate the angular power spectrum from an ensemble of least foreground-contaminated square patches from WMAP W and V frequency band map. This method circumvents the issue of foreground cleaning and that of breaking orthogonality in spherical harmonic analysis due to masking out the bright Galactic plane region, thereby rendering a direct measurement of the angular power spectrum. We test and confirm Gaussian statistical characteristic of the selected patches, from which the first and second acoustic peak of the power spectrum are reproduced, and the third peak is clearly visible albeit with some noise residual at the tail.

astro-ph.CO

Fractal Structure of Isothermal Lines and Loops on the Cosmic Microwave Background

The statistics of isothermal lines and loops of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation on the sky map is studied and the fractal structure is confirmed in the radiation temperature fluctuation. We estimate the fractal exponents, such as the fractal dimension $D_{\mathrm{e}}$ of the entire pattern of isothermal lines, the fractal dimension $D_{\mathrm{c}}$ of a single isothermal line, the exponent $ζ$ in Korčak's law for the size distribution of isothermal loops, the two kind of Hurst exponents, $H_{\mathrm{e}}$ for the profile of the CMB radiation temperature, and $H_{\mathrm{c}}$ for a single isothermal line. We also perform fractal analysis of two artificial sky maps simulated by a standard model in physical cosmology, the WMAP best-fit $Λ$ Cold Dark Matter ($Λ$CDM) model, and by the Gaussian free model of rough surfaces. The temperature fluctuations of the real CMB radiation and in the simulation using the $Λ$CDM model are non-Gaussian, in the sense that the displacement of isothermal lines and loops has an antipersistent property indicated by $H_{\mathrm{e}} \simeq 0.23 < 1/2$.

astro-ph.CO

Cross-Power Spectrum and Its Application on Window Functions in the WMAP data

Cross-power spectrum is a quadratic estimator between two maps that can provide unbiased estimate of the underlying power spectrum of the correlated signals, which is therefore used for extracting the power spectrum in the WMAP data. In this paper we discuss the limit of cross-power spectrum and derive the residual from uncorrelated signal, which is the source of error in power spectrum extraction. We employ the estimator to extract window functions by crossing pairs of extragalactic point sources. We desmonstrate its usefulness in WMAP Difference Assembly maps where the window functions are measured via Jupiter and then extract the window functions of the 5 WMAP frequency band maps.

astro-ph.CO

The Gauss-Legendre Sky Pixelization for the CMB polarization (GLESP-pol). Errors due to pixelization of the CMB sky

We present developing of method of the numerical analysis of polarization in the Gauss--Legendre Sky Pixelization (GLESP) scheme for the CMB maps. This incorporation of the polarization transforms in the pixelization scheme GLESP completes the creation of our new method for the numerical analysis of CMB maps. The comparison of GLESP and HEALPix calculations is done.

astro-ph.CO

Cosmic Covariance and the Low Quadrupole Anisotropy of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Data

The quadrupole power of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies seen in the WMAP data is puzzlingly low. In this paper we demonstrate that Minimum Variance Optimization (MVO), a technique used by many authors (including the WMAP science team) to separate the CMB from contaminating foregrounds, has the effect of forcing the extracted CMB map to have zero statistical correlation with the foreground emission. Over an ensemble of universes the true CMB and foreground are indeed expected to be uncorrelated, but any particular sky pattern (such as the one we happen to observe) will generate non-zero measured correlations simply by chance. We call this effect "cosmic covariance" and it is a possible source of bias in the CMB maps cleaned using the MVO technique. We show that the presence of cosmic covariance is expected to artificially suppress the variance of the Internal Linear Combination (ILC) map obtained via MVO. It also propagates into the multipole expansion of the ILC map, generating a quadrupole deficit with more than 90% confidence. Since we do not know the CMB and the foregrounds a priori, there is therefore an unknown contribution to the uncertainty in the measured quadrupole power, over and above the usual cosmic variance contribution. Using the MVO on a series of Monte Carlo simulations that assume Gaussian CMB fluctuations, we estimate that the real quadrupole power of the CMB lies in the range [305.16,400.40] microKelvin^2 (at the 1-sigma level).

astro-ph

Phase analysis of the cosmic microwave background from an incomplete sky coverage

Phases of the spherical harmonic analysis of full-sky cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature data contain useful information complementary to the ubiquitous angular power spectrum. In this letter we present a new method of phase analysis on incomplete sky maps. It is based on Fourier phases of equal-latitude pixel rings of the map, which are related to the mean angle of the trigonometric moments from the full-sky phases. They have an advantage for probing regions of interest without tapping polluted Galactic plane area, and can localize non-Gaussian features and departure from statistical isotropy in the CMB.

astro-ph

The One-dimensional Fourier Representation and Large Angular Scale Foreground Contamination in the 3-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data

We employ the one-dimensional Fourier representation (1DFR) to analyze the 3-year WMAP de-biased internal linear combination (DILC) map and its possible contamination by galactic foregrounds. The 1DFR is a representation of the spherical harmonic coefficients for each l mode using an inverse Fourier transform into one-dimensional curves. Based on the a priori assumption that the CMB signal should be statistically independent of, and consequently have no significant correlation with, any foregrounds, we cross-correlate the 1DFR curves of 2 <= l <= 10 modes, which are claimed by the WMAP team to be free of contamination and suitable for whole sky analysis. We find that 8 out of the 9 modes are negatively cross correlated with the foreground maps, an event which has a probability of only 9/512 ~ 0.0176 for uncorrelated signals. Furthermore, the local extrema of the 1DFR curves between the DILC and those of the foregrounds for l=2 and 6 are correlated with significance level below 0.04. We also discuss the minimum variance optimization method and use the properties of the measured cross-correlation to estimate the possible level of contamination present in the DILC map.

astro-ph

Testing Gaussian random hypothesis with the cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies in the three-year WMAP data

We test the hypothesis that the temperature of the cosmic microwave background is consistent with a Gaussian random field defined on the celestial sphere, using de-biased internal linear combination (DILC) map produced from the 3-year WMAP data. We test the phases for spherical harmonic modes with l <= 10 (which should be the cleanest) for their uniformity, randomness, and correlation with those of the foreground templates. The phases themselves are consistent with a uniform distribution, but not for l <= 5, and the differences between phases are not consistent with uniformity. For l=3 and l=6, the phases of the CMB maps cross-correlate with the foregrounds, suggestion the presence of residual contamination in the DLC map even on these large scales. We also use a one-dimensional Fourier representation to assemble a_lm into the ΔT_l(ϕ) for each l mode, and test the positions of the resulting maxima and minima for consistency with uniformity randomness on the unit circle. The results show significant departures at the 0.5% level, with the one-dimensional peaks being concentrated around ϕ=180 degs. This strongly significant alignment with the Galactic meridian, together with the cross-correlation of DILC phases with the foreground maps, strongly suggests that even the lowest spherical harmonic modes in the map are significantly contaminated with foreground radiation.

astro-ph

Non-linearity of large-scale structure formation in the Universe

In the standard picture of cosmological structure formation, the Universe we see today is evolved under the gravitational instability from tiny random fluctuations. In this talk I discuss the onset of non-linearity in the large scale structure formation of the Universe when the linear perturbation theory break downs. Using 1D Zel'dovich Approximation which provides an exact solution for density evolution, I illustrate two effects: mode spawning and mode merging and their connection to mode coupling. Those mode couplings (quadratic, cubic >...etc.) from gravitational clustering are in fact what the polyspectra (bispectrum, trispectrum...etc.) are meant to measure.

astro-ph

Correlations from Galactic foregrounds in the 1-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe WMAP data

We study a specific correlation in spherical harmonic multipole domain for cosmic microwave background (CMB) analysis. This group of correlation between Δl=4n, n=1,2... is caused by symmetric signal in the Galactic coordinate system. An estimator targeting such correlation therefore helps remove the localized bright point-like sources in the Galactic plane and the strong diffused component down to the CMB level. We use 3 toy models to illustrate the significance of these correlations and apply this estimator on some derived CMB maps with foreground residuals. In addition, we show that our proposed estimator significantly damp the phase correlations caused by Galactic foregrounds. This investigation provides the understanding of mode correlations caused by Galactic foregrounds, which is useful for paving the way for foreground cleaning methods for the CMB.

astro-ph

Statistics of phase correlations as a test for non-Gaussianity of the CMB maps

Gaussianity is the very base for derivation of the cosmological parameters from the CMB angular power spectrum. Non-Gaussian signal, whether originated from experimental error or primordial source, could mimic extra power in the power spectrum, thereby leading to a wrong set of parameters. In this paper we present a new Gaussianity analysis of the derived CMB singals. It is based on the trigonometric moments of phases, which can be concluded with a ``mean angle'', allowing us to see the global trend of non-Gaussianity of the signals. These moments are also closely related to the Pearson's random walks. We apply these analyses on the derived CMB maps and their different morphologies manifest themselves through these functions. We also comment on rotational invariance of the trigonometric moments of phases as a non-Gaussianity test.

astro-ph

Auto and cross correlation of phases of the whole-sky CMB and foreground maps from the 1-year WMAP data

The issue of non-Gaussianity is not only related to distinguishing the theories of the origin of primordial fluctuations, but also crucial for the determination of cosmological parameters in the framework of inflation paradigm. We present an advenced method for testing non-Gaussianity on the whole-sky CMB anisotropies. This method is based on the Kuiper's statistic to probe the two-dimensional uniformity on a periodic mapping square associating phases: return mapping of phases of the derived CMB (similar to auto correlation) and cross correlations between phases of the derived CMB and foregrounds. Since phases reflect morphology, detection of cross correlation of phases signifies the contamination of foreground signals in the derived CMB map. The advantage of this method is that one can cross check the auto and cross correlation of phases of the derived CMB and foregrounds, and mark off those multipoles in which the non-Gaussianity results from the foreground contaminations. We apply this statistic on the derived signals from the 1-year WMAP data. The auto-correlations of phases from the ILC map shows the significance above 95% CL against the random phase hypothesis on 17 spherical harmonic multipoles, among which some have pronounced cross correlations with the foreground maps. We conclude that most of the non-Gaussianity found in the derived CMB maps are from foreground contaminations, except, among others, l=6. With this method we are better equipped to approach the issue of non-Gaussianity of primordial origin for the upcoming PLANCK mission.

astro-ph

Foreground analysis from the 1-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data

We present a detailed analysis on the phases of the WMAP foregrounds (synchrotron, free-free and dust emission) of the WMAP K-W bands in order to estimate the significance of the variation of the spectral indices at different components. We first extract the spectral-index varying signals by assuming that the invariant part among different frequency bands have 100% cross-correlation of phases. We then use the minimization of variance, which is normally used for extracting the CMB signals, to extract the frequency independent signals. Such a common signal in each foreground component could play a significant role for any kind of component separation methods, because the methods cannot discriminate frequency independent foregrounds and CMB.

astro-ph

Primordial magnetic field and non-Gaussianity of the 1-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data

Alfven turbulence caused by statistically isotropic and homogeneous primordial magnetic field induces correlations in the cosmic microwave background anisotropies. The correlations are specifically between spherical harmonic modes a_{l-1,m} and a_{l+1,m}. In this paper we approach this issue from phase analysis of the CMB maps derived from the WMAP data sets. Using circular statistics and return phase mapping we examine phase correlation of Δl=2 for the primordial non-Gaussianity caused by the Alfven turbulence at the epoch of recombination. Our analyses show that such specific features from the power-law Alfven turbulence do not contribute significantly in the phases of the maps and could not be a source of primordial non-Gaussianity of the CMB.

astro-ph

Antimatter from the cosmological baryogenesis and the anisotropies and polarization of the CMB radiation

We discuss the hypotheses that cosmological baryon asymmetry and entropy were produced in the early Universe by phase transition of the scalar fields in the framework of spontaneous baryogenesis scenario. We show that annihilation of the matter-antimatter clouds during the cosmological hydrogen recombination could distort of the CMB anisotropies and polarization by delay of the recombination. After recombination the annihilation of the antibaryonic clouds (ABC) and baryonic matter can produce peak-like reionization at the high redshifts before formation of quasars and early galaxy formation. We discuss the constraints on the parameters of spontaneous baryogenesis scenario by the recent WMAP CMB anisotropy and polarization data and on possible manifestation of the antimatter clouds in the upcoming PLANCK data.

astro-ph