Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Measurement from Python V

• Published in: The Astrophysical Journal
• Main Authors: Coble, K., Dodelson, S., Dragovan, M., Ganga, K., Knox, L., Kovac, J., Ratra, B., Souradeep, T.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Astronomical Society 2003
• Subjects: Amundsen Scott South Pole Station; Amundsen-Scott; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; South Pole; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: https://authors.library.caltech.edu/76009/; https://authors.library.caltech.edu/76009/2/pdf; https://authors.library.caltech.edu/76009/1/0112506.pdf; https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170408-144740114

We analyze observations of the microwave sky made with the Python experiment in its fifth year of operation at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. After modeling the noise and constructing a map, we extract the cosmic signal from the data. We simultaneously estimate the angular power spectrum in eight bands ranging from large (ℓ ~ 40) to small (ℓ ~ 260) angular scales, with power detected in the first six bands. There is a significant rise in the power spectrum from large to smaller (ℓ ~ 200) scales, consistent with that expected from acoustic oscillations in the early universe. We compare this Python V map to a map made from data taken in the third year of Python. Python III observations were made at a frequency of 90 GHz and covered a subset of the region of the sky covered by Python V observations, which were made at 40 GHz. Good agreement is obtained both visually (with a filtered version of the map) and via a likelihood ratio test.