Analysis of Polarized Dust Emission Using Data from the First Flight of SPIDER
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Using data from the first flight of Spider and from the Planck High Frequency Instrument, we probe the properties of polarized emission from interstellar dust in the Spider observing region. Component-separation algorithms operating in both the spatial and harmonic domains are applied to probe their consistency and to quantify modeling errors associated with their assumptions. Analyses of diffuse Galactic dust emission spanning the full Spider region demonstrate (i) a spectral energy distribution that is broadly consistent with a modified-blackbody (MBB) model with a spectral index of β d = 1.45 ± 0.05 (1.47 ± 0.06) for E (B)-mode polarization, slightly lower than that reported by Planck for the full sky; (ii) an angular power spectrum broadly consistent with a power law; and (iii) no significant detection of line-of-sight polarization decorrelation. Tests of several modeling uncertainties find only a modest impact (∼10% in σ r ) on Spider’s sensitivity to the cosmological tensor-to-scalar ratio. The size of the Spider region further allows for a statistically meaningful analysis of the variation in foreground properties within it. Assuming a fixed dust temperature T d = 19.6 K, an analysis of two independent subregions of that field results in inferred values of β d = 1.52 ± 0.06 and β d = 1.09 ± 0.09, which are inconsistent at the 3.9σ level. Furthermore, a joint analysis of Spider and Planck 217 and 353 GHz data within one subregion is inconsistent with a simple MBB at more than 3σ, assuming a common morphology of polarized dust emission over the full range of frequencies. This evidence of variation may inform the component-separation approaches of future cosmic microwave background polarization experiments.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: P. A. R. Ade, M. Amiri, S. J. Benton, A. S. Bergman, R. Bihary, J. J. Bock, J. R. Bond, J. A. Bonetti, S. A. Bryan, H. C. Chiang, C. R. Contaldi, O. Doré, A. J. Duivenvoorden, H. K. Eriksen, J. P. Filippini, A. A. Fraisse, K. Freese, M. Galloway, A. E. Gambrel, N. N. Gandilo, K. Ganga, S. Gourapura, R. Gualtieri, J. E. Gudmundsson, M. Halpern, J. Hartley, M. Hasselfield, G. Hilton, W. Holmes, V. V. Hristov, Z. Huang, K. D. Irwin, W. C. Jones, A. Karakci, C. L. Kuo, Z. D. Kermish, J. S.-Y. Leung, S. Li, D. S. Y. Mak, P. V. Mason, K. Megerian, L. Moncelsi, T. A. Morford, J. M. Nagy, C. B. Netterfield, M. Nolta, R. O’Brient, B. Osherson, I. L. Padilla, B. Racine, A. S. Rahlin, C. Reintsema, J. E. Ruhl, M. C. Runyan, T. M. Ruud, J. A. Shariff, E. C. Shaw, C. Shiu, J. D. Soler, X. Song, A. Trangsrud, C. Tucker, R. S. Tucker, A. D. Turner, J. F. van der List, A. C. Weber, I. K. Wehus, D. V. Wiebe, E. Y. Young
Institution: Université Paris Diderot
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, Compute Canada, Government of Ontario, Flatiron Health, European Commission, Swedish National Space Agency, University of Toronto, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Vetenskapsrådet, Norges Forskningsråd, Science Mission Directorate, Canadian Space Agency, Astrophysics Division, British Antarctic Survey, Division of Antarctic Sciences
Awards: Probing Fundamental Physics with the Spider Antarctic Long Duration Balloon Experiment, WHILE THERE ARE VIABLE ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OF COSMOGENESIS, INCLUDING STRING COSMOLOGIES AND CYCLIC UNIVERSE MODELS, INFLATION IS NOW WIDELY ACCEP, Imaging the Infant Universe with future Instruments, G3257076968, G3938408236, SPIDER: A LARGE ANGULAR SCALE MILLIMETER-WAVE POLARIMETERWE PROPOSE SPIDER: A NEW LONG-DURATION BALLOON EXPERIMENT TO MAP THE POLARIZATION OFTHE CM, G4964460292, G6108906322, THE STANDARD DARK-MATTER AND DARK-ENERGY DOMINATED COSMOLOGICAL MODEL (LCDM) HAS PROVEN TO BE REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL IN DESCRIBING THE CURRENT STATE AND PAST EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. HOWEVER THERE REMAIN SIGNIFICANT UNCERTAINTIES REGARDING THE PHYSICAL MECHANISMS THAT ESTABLISHED THE INITIAL CONDITIONS UPON WHICH THE LCDM PREDICTIONS RELY. THEORIES OF COSMIC GENESIS - THE EXTREMELY HIGH ENERGY MECHANISMS THAT ESTABLISHED THESE CONDITIONS - SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A NATURAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NEARLY FLAT GEOMETRY OF THE UNIVERSE THE EXISTENCE OF SUPER-HORIZON DENSITY CORRELATIONS AND THE ADIABATIC GAUSSIAN AND NEARLY SCALE-INVARIANT NATURE OF THE OBSERVED PRIMORDIAL DENSITY PERTURBATIONS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF SPIDER IS TO SUBJECT MODELS OF THE EARLY UNIVERSE TO OBSERVATIONAL TEST PROBING FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS AT ENERGY SCALES FAR BEYOND THE REACH OF TERRESTRIAL PARTICLE ACCELERATORS. THE MAIN SCIENTIFIC RESULT WILL BE TO CHARACTERIZE OR PLACE STRINGENT UPPER LIMITS ON THE LEVEL OF THE ODD-PARITY POLARIZATION OF THE CMB. IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INFLATIONARY PARADIGM SPIDER WILL CONFIRM OR EXCLUDE THE PREDICTIONS OF THE SIMPLEST SINGLE-FIELD INFLATIONARY MODELS NEAR THE LYTH BOUND CHARACTERIZED BY TENSOR TO SCALAR RATIOS R ~ 0.03. WHILE VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO THE INFLATIONARY PARADIGM ARE AN ACTIVE AND IMPORTANT AREA OF INVESTIGATION INCLUDING STRING COSMOLOGIES AND CYCLIC MODELS EARLY UNIVERSE MODELS DESCRIBED BY INFLATIONARY PERIODS ARE NOW WIDELY ACCEPTED AS THE UNDERLYING CAUSE BEHIND MUCH OF WHAT WE OBSERVE IN COSMOLOGY TODAY. NEVERTHELESS WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE MECHANISM THAT WOULD DRIVE INFLATION OR THE ENERGY SCALE AT WHICH IT OCCURRED AND THE PARADIGM FACES SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VIABILITY OF THE FRAMEWORK AS A SCIENTIFIC THEORY. FORTUNATELY INFLATIONARY PARADIGMS AND ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OFFER DISTINCT PREDICTIONS REGARDING THE STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION. SPIDER WILL USE MEASUREMENTS OF THE POLARIZATION OF THE CMB TO SEARCH FOR THE SIGNATURE OF PRIMORDIAL GRAVITATIONAL WAVES THAT ARE PREDICTED WITHIN THE CURRENTLY FAVORED THEORIES OF INFLATION. A DEFINITIVE DETECTION OF THIS SIGNAL WOULD PROVIDE THE FIRST DIRECT INSIGHT INTO THE UNDERLYING PHYSICS OF INFLATION AS WELL AS A MEASUREMENT OF ITS ENERGY SCALE. A STRINGENT LIMIT ON THE AMPLITUDE OF THIS SIGNAL WOULD EXCLUDE THE CURRENTLY FAVORED CLASS OF INFLATIONARY MODELS BOLSTERING THE CASE FOR ALTERNATIVE THEORIES. SPIDER IS A SUBORBITAL LONG-DURATION BALLOON PAYLOAD HOUSING SIX CRYOGENIC SMALL-APERTURE (HALF-DEGREE RESOLUTION) MILLIMETER-WAVE POLARIMETERS. THE FREQUENCY BANDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL POLARIMETERS ARE CHOSEN TO OPTIMIZE OVERALL SENSITIVITY TO THE INFLATIONARY CMB POLARIZATION SIGNAL IN THE PRESENCE OF GALACTIC FOREGROUNDS. BY MAKING EXTREMELY DEEP HIGH FIDELITY MEASUREMENTS OF THE ENTIRE PORTION OF THE SOUTHERN SKY THAT IS RELATIVELY FREE OF GALACTIC EMISSION THE SPIDER DATA COMPLEMENT THOSE OF PLANCK (IN SENSITIVITY AND CONTROL OF SYSTEMATICS) PIPER (IN FREQUENCY COVERAGE) AND EBEX (IN SKY COVERAGE AND ANGULAR SCALE). THE DATA FROM SPIDER'S INAUGURAL FLIGHT IN 2015 HAS RESULTED IN HIGH SIGNAL-TO-NOISE MAPS OF THE SOUTHERN GALACTIC HEMISPHERE COVERING 10% OF THE FULL SKY AT EACH OF 94 AND 150 GHZ. THE PAYLOAD IS NOW BEING FABRICATED AND FITTED WITH A SUITE OF 285 GHZ CAMERAS TO EXTEND OUR FREQUENCY COVERAGE IMPROVING OUR ABILITY TO DISENTANGLE THE GALACTIC AND COSMOLOGICAL SIGNALS. IF ITS SIGNATURE IS PRESENT IN THE CMB SPIDER'S FREQUENCY COVERAGE AND FIDELITY TO A BROAD RANGE OF ANGULAR SCALES ENABLE THE EXPERIMENT TO TAKE A STEP BEYOND DETECTION TOWARD THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GRAVITATIONAL WAVE INDUCED SIGNATURE IN THE CMB. ADDITIONALLY SPIDER SERVES AS A TRAINING GROUND FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS INCLUDING 16 GRADUATE STUDENTS (9 FEMALE 7 MALE)., PROPOSAL TO STUDY THE PROPERTIES AND INTERACTIONS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES, G989574591
OpenAlex ID: W4406042345