A new model of the microwave polarized sky for CMB experiments

Abstract

We present a new model of the microwave sky in polarization that can be used to simulate data from CMB polarization experiments. We exploit the most recent results from the Planck satellite to provide an accurate description of the diffuse polarized foreground synchrotron and thermal dust emission. Our model can include the two mentioned foregrounds, and also a constructed template of Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME). Several options for the frequency dependence of the foregrounds can be easily selected, to reflect our uncertainties and to test the impact of different assumptions. Small angular scale features can be added to the foreground templates to simulate high-resolution observations. We present tests of the model outputs to show the excellent agreement with Planck and WMAP data. We determine the range within which the foreground spectral indices can be varied to be consistent with the current data. We also show forecasts for a high-sensitivity, high-resolution full-sky experiment such as the Cosmic ORigin Explorer (COrE). Our model is released as a python script that is quick and easy to use, available at \url{http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/~chervias}.

12 pages, 14 Figures, 1 Table, Accepted by MNRAS

References in corpus (7)

• A Joint Analysis of BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck Data
• Three-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Foreground Polarization
• Measurements of Sub-degree B-mode Polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background from 100 Square Degrees of SPTpol Data
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Cited by in corpus (10)

• The Simons Observatory: Science goals and forecasts
• The Python Sky Model: software for simulating the Galactic microwave sky
• Dust Polarization Maps from TIGRESS: E/B power asymmetry and TE correlation
• The Power Spectra of Polarized, Dusty Filaments
• Full-sky, arcminute-scale, 3D models of Galactic microwave foreground dust emission based on filaments
• Impact of modelling foreground uncertainties on future CMB polarization satellite experiments
• Statistical properties of polarized CMB foreground maps
• Impact of Galactic dust non-Gaussianity on searches for B-modes from inflation
• Constraining the Anomalous Microwave Emission Mechanism in the S140 Star Forming Region with Spectroscopic Observations Between 4 and 8 GHz at the Green Bank Telescope
• Impact of Galactic non-Gaussian foregrounds on CMB lensing measurements