A 2500 square-degree CMB lensing map from combined South Pole Telescope and Planck data

Abstract

We present a cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing map produced from a linear combination of South Pole Telescope (SPT) and \emph{Planck} temperature data. The 150 GHz temperature data from the $2500{\mathrm{deg}}^2$ SPT-SZ survey is combined with the \emph{Planck} 143 GHz data in harmonic space, to obtain a temperature map that has a broader $\ell$ coverage and less noise than either individual map. Using a quadratic estimator technique on this combined temperature map, we produce a map of the gravitational lensing potential projected along the line of sight. We measure the auto-spectrum of the lensing potential $C_L^{\varphi \varphi }$, and compare it to the theoretical prediction for a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology consistent with the \emph{Planck} 2015 data set, finding a best-fit amplitude of $0.95_{-0.06}^{+0.06}(Stat.){}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}(Sys.)$. The null hypothesis of no lensing is rejected at a significance of $24\sigma$. One important use of such a lensing potential map is in cross-correlations with other dark matter tracers. We demonstrate this cross-correlation in practice by calculating the cross-spectrum, $C_L^{\varphi G}$, between the SPT+\emph{Planck} lensing map and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (\emph{WISE}) galaxies. We fit $C_L^{\varphi G}$ to a power law of the form $p_L=a(L/L_0{)}^{-b}$ with $a=2.15\times 10^{-8}$, $b=1.35$, $L_0=490$, and find ${\eta }^{\varphi G}=0.94_{-0.04}^{+0.04}$, which is marginally lower, but in good agreement with ${\eta }^{\varphi G}=1.00_{-0.01}^{+0.02}$, the best-fit amplitude for the cross-correlation of \emph{Planck}-2015 CMB lensing and \emph{WISE} galaxies over $\sim 67\%$ of the sky. The lensing potential map presented here will be used for cross-correlation studies with the Dark Energy Survey (DES), whose footprint nearly completely covers the SPT $2500{\mathrm{deg}}^2$ field.

17 pages, 10 figures