Search

We show the improvement to cosmological constraints from galaxy cluster surveys with the addition of CMB-cluster lensing data. We explore the cosmological implications of adding mass information from the 3.1$\sigma$ detection of gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by galaxy clusters to the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) selected galaxy cluster sample from the 2500 deg$^2$ SPT-SZ survey and targeted optical and X-ray followup data. In the $\Lambda$CDM model, the combination of the cluster sample with the Planck power spectrum measurements prefers $\sigma_8 \left(\Omega_m/0.3 \right)^{0.5} = 0.831 \pm 0.020$. Adding the cluster data reduces the uncertainty on this quantity by a factor of 1.4, which is unchanged whether or not the 3.1$\sigma$ CMB-cluster lensing measurement is included. We then forecast the impact of CMB-cluster lensing measurements with future cluster catalogs. Adding CMB-cluster lensing measurements to the SZ cluster catalog of the on-going SPT-3G survey is expected to improve the expected constraint on the dark energy equation of state $w$ by a factor of 1.3 to $\sigma(w) = 0.19$. We find the largest improvements from CMB-cluster lensing measurements to be for $\sigma_8$, where adding CMB-cluster lensing data to the cluster number counts reduces the expected uncertainty on $\sigma_8$ by factors of 2.4 and 3.6 for SPT-3G and CMB-S4 respectively., Comment: Comments are welcome

We perform the first simultaneous Bayesian parameter inference and optimal reconstruction of the gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), using 100 deg2 of polarization observations from the SPTpol receiver on the South Pole Telescope. These data reach noise levels as low as 5.8 μK arcmin in polarization, which are low enough that the typically used quadratic estimator (QE) technique for analyzing CMB lensing is significantly suboptimal. Conversely, the Bayesian procedure extracts all lensing information from the data and is optimal at any noise level. We infer the amplitude of the gravitational lensing potential to be A ϕ = 0.949 ± 0.122 using the Bayesian pipeline, consistent with our QE pipeline result, but with 17% smaller error bars. The Bayesian analysis also provides a simple way to account for systematic uncertainties, performing a similar job as frequentist “bias hardening” or linear bias correction, and reducing the systematic uncertainty on A ϕ due to polarization calibration from almost half of the statistical error to effectively zero. Finally, we jointly constrain A ϕ along with A L, the amplitude of lensing-like effects on the CMB power spectra, demonstrating that the Bayesian method can be used to easily infer parameters both from an optimal lensing reconstruction and from the delensed CMB, while exactly accounting for the correlation between the two. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the Bayesian approach on real data, and pave the way for future analysis of deep CMB polarization measurements with SPT-3G, Simons Observatory, and CMB-S4, where improvements relative to the QE can reach 1.5 times tighter constraints on A ϕ and seven times lower effective lensing reconstruction noise.

We search for the signature of cosmological shocks in stacked gas pressure profiles of galaxy clusters using data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT). Specifically, we stack the latest Compton-y maps from the 2500 deg^2 SPT-SZ survey on the locations of clusters identified in that same dataset. The sample contains 516 clusters with mean mass = 1e14.9 msol and redshift = 0.55. We analyze in parallel a set of zoom-in hydrodynamical simulations from The Three Hundred project. The SPT-SZ data show two features: (i) a pressure deficit at R/R200m = $1.08 \pm 0.09$, measured at $3.1\sigma$ significance and not observed in the simulations, and; (ii) a sharp decrease in pressure at R/R200m = $4.58 \pm 1.24$ at $2.0\sigma$ significance. The pressure deficit is qualitatively consistent with a shock-induced thermal non-equilibrium between electrons and ions, and the second feature is consistent with accretion shocks seen in previous studies. We split the cluster sample by redshift and mass, and find both features exist in all cases. There are also no significant differences in features along and across the cluster major axis, whose orientation roughly points towards filamentary structure. As a consistency test, we also analyze clusters from the Planck and Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter surveys and find quantitatively similar features in the pressure profiles. Finally, we compare the accretion shock radius (Rsh_acc) with existing measurements of the splashback radius (Rsp) for SPT-SZ and constrain the lower limit of the ratio, Rsh_acc/Rsp > $2.16 \pm 0.59$., Comment: [v1]: 8 Figures, 16 Pages in Main text. [v2]: Added text to discussion. Version accepted in MNRAS

The South Pole Telescope Summertime Line Intensity Mapper (SPT-SLIM) is a pathfinder experiment that will demonstrate the use of on-chip filter-bank spectrometers for mm-wave line intensity mapping (LIM). The SPT-SLIM focal plane consists of 18 dual-polarization R=300 filter-bank spectrometers covering 120-180 GHz, coupled to aluminum kinetic inductance detectors. A compact cryostat holds the detectors at 100 mK and performs observations without removing the SPT-3G receiver. SPT-SLIM will be deployed to the 10-m South Pole Telescope for observations during the 2023-24 austral summer. We discuss the overall instrument design, expected detector performance and sensitivity to the LIM signal from CO at 0.5 < z < 2. The technology and observational techniques demonstrated by SPT-SLIM will enable next-generation LIM experiments that constrain cosmology beyond the redshift reach of galaxy surveys., 7 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to the Journal of Low Temperature Physics (Proceedings of the 19th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors)

SPT-3G is the third survey receiver operating on the South Pole Telescope dedicated to high-resolution observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Sensitive measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the CMB provide a powerful dataset for constraining cosmology. Additionally, CMB surveys with arcminute-scale resolution are capable of detecting galaxy clusters, millimeter-wave bright galaxies, and a variety of transient phenomena. The SPT-3G instrument provides a significant improvement in mapping speed over its predecessors, SPT-SZ and SPTpol. The broadband optics design of the instrument achieves a 430 mm diameter image plane across observing bands of 95 GHz, 150 GHz, and 220 GHz, with 1.2 arcmin FWHM beam response at 150 GHz. In the receiver, this image plane is populated with 2690 dual-polarization, tri-chroic pixels (~16000 detectors) read out using a 68X digital frequency-domain multiplexing readout system. In 2018, SPT-3G began a multiyear survey of 1500 deg$^{2}$ of the southern sky. We summarize the unique optical, cryogenic, detector, and readout technologies employed in SPT-3G, and we report on the integrated performance of the instrument., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJS

We present the first measurements of asteroids in millimeter wavelength (mm) data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT), which is used primarily to study the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We analyze maps of two $\sim270$ deg$^2$ sky regions near the ecliptic plane, each observed with the SPTpol camera $\sim100$ times over one month. We subtract the mean of all maps of a given field, removing static sky signal, and then average the mean-subtracted maps at known asteroid locations. We detect three asteroids$\text{ -- }$(324) Bamberga, (13) Egeria, and (22) Kalliope$\text{ -- }$with signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) of 11.2, 10.4, and 6.1, respectively, at 2.0 mm (150 GHz); we also detect (324) Bamberga with S/N of 4.1 at 3.2 mm (95 GHz). We place constraints on these asteroids' effective emissivities, brightness temperatures, and light curve modulation amplitude. Our flux density measurements of (324) Bamberga and (13) Egeria roughly agree with predictions, while our measurements of (22) Kalliope suggest lower flux, corresponding to effective emissivities of $0.66 \pm 0.11$ at 2.0 mm and $, 21 pages, 9 figures

The Summertime Line Intensity Mapper (SLIM) is a mm-wave line-intensity mapping (mm-LIM) experiment for the South Pole Telescope (SPT). The goal of SPT-SLIM is to serve as a technical and scientific pathfinder for the demonstration of the suitability and in-field performance of multi-pixel superconducting filterbank spectrometers for future mm-LIM experiments. Scheduled to deploy in the 2023-24 austral summer, the SPT-SLIM focal plane will include 18 dual-polarization pixels, each coupled to an $R = \lambda/\Delta\lambda$ = 300 thin- film microstrip filterbank spectrometer that spans the 2 mm atmospheric window (120-180 GHz). Each individual spectral channel feeds a microstrip-coupled lumped-element kinetic inductance detector, which provides the highly multiplexed readout for the 10k detectors needed for SPT-SLIM. Here we present an overview of the preliminary design of key aspects of the SPT-SLIM the focal plane array, a description of the detector architecture and predicted performance, and initial test results that will be used to inform the final design of the SPT- SLIM spectrometer array., Comment: Submitted to special issue of JLTP (proceedings of LTD19)

We provide the first combined cosmological analysis of South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck cluster catalogs. The aim is to provide an independent calibration for Planck scaling relations, exploiting the cosmological constraining power of the SPT-SZ cluster catalog and its dedicated weak lensing (WL) and X-ray follow-up observations. We build a new version of the Planck cluster likelihood. In the $\nu \Lambda$CDM scenario, focusing on the mass slope and mass bias of Planck scaling relations, we find $\alpha_{\text{SZ}} = 1.49_{-0.10}^{+0.07}$ and $(1-b)_{\text{SZ}} = 0.69_{-0.14}^{+0.07}$ respectively. The results for the mass slope show a $\sim 4 \, \sigma$ departure from the self-similar evolution, $\alpha_{\text{SZ}} \sim 1.8$. This shift is mainly driven by the matter density value preferred by SPT data, $\Omega_m = 0.30 \pm 0.03$, lower than the one obtained by Planck data alone, $\Omega_m = 0.37_{-0.06}^{+0.02}$. The mass bias constraints are consistent both with outcomes of hydrodynamical simulations and external WL calibrations, $(1-b) \sim 0.8$, and with results required by the Planck cosmic microwave background cosmology, $(1-b) \sim 0.6$. From this analysis, we obtain a new catalog of Planck cluster masses $M_{500}$. We estimate the ratio between the published Planck $M_{\text{SZ}}$ masses and our derived masses $M_{500}$, as a "measured mass bias", $(1-b)_M$. We analyse the mass, redshift and detection noise dependence of $(1-b)_M$, finding an increasing trend towards high redshift and low mass. These results mimic the effect of departure from self-similarity in cluster evolution, showing different dependencies for the low-mass high-mass, low-z high-z regimes., Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, the catalogs can be found at http://pole.uchicago.edu/public/data/sptplanck_cluster

Context. Realistic synthetic observations of theoretical source models are essential for our understanding of real observational data. In using synthetic data, one can verify the extent to which source parameters can be recovered and evaluate how various data corruption effects can be calibrated. These studies are the most important when proposing observations of new sources, in the characterization of the capabilities of new or upgraded instruments, and when verifying model-based theoretical predictions in a direct comparison with observational data. Aims. We present the SYnthetic Measurement creator for long Baseline Arrays (SYMBA), a novel synthetic data generation pipeline for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations. SYMBA takes into account several realistic atmospheric, instrumental, and calibration effects. Methods. We used SYMBA to create synthetic observations for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a millimetre VLBI array, which has recently captured the first image of a black hole shadow. After testing SYMBA with simple source and corruption models, we study the importance of including all corruption and calibration effects, compared to the addition of thermal noise only. Using synthetic data based on two example general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) model images of M 87, we performed case studies to assess the image quality that can be obtained with the current and future EHT array for different weather conditions. Results. Our synthetic observations show that the effects of atmospheric and instrumental corruptions on the measured visibilities are significant. Despite these effects, we demonstrate how the overall structure of our GRMHD source models can be recovered robustly with the EHT2017 array after performing calibration steps, which include fringe fitting, a priori amplitude and network calibration, and self-calibration. With the planned addition of new stations to the EHT array in the coming years, images could be reconstructed with higher angular resolution and dynamic range. In our case study, these improvements allowed for a distinction between a thermal and a non-thermal GRMHD model based on salient features in reconstructed images. © 2020 ESO., This work is supported by the ERC Synergy Grant "BlackHoleCam: Imaging the Event Horizon of Black Holes" (Grant 610058). I. Natarajan and R. Deane are grateful for the support from the New Scientific Frontiers with Precision Radio Interferometry Fellowship awarded by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which is a facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa. The authors of the present paper further thank the following organizations and programmes: the Academy of Finland (projects 274477, 284495, 312496); the Advanced European Network of E-infrastructures for Astronomy with the SKA (AENEAS) project, supported by the European Commission Framework Programme Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation action under grant agreement 731016; the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung; the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University, through a grant (60477) from the John Templeton Foundation; the China Scholarship Council; Comision Nacional de Investigacio Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT, Chile, via PIA ACT172033, Fondecyt 1171506, BASAL AFB-170002, ALMAconicyt 31140007); Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT, Mexico, projects 104497, 275201, 279006, 281692); the Delaney Family via the Delaney Family John A. Wheeler Chair at Perimeter Institute; Direccion General de Asuntos del Personal Academico-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (DGAPA-UNAM, project IN112417); the Generalitat Valenciana postdoctoral grant APOSTD/2018/177; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grants GBMF-3561, GBMF-5278); the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) sezione di Napoli, iniziative specifiche TEONGRAV; the GenT Program (Generalitat Valenciana) under project CIDEGENT/2018/021; the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne; the Jansky Fellowship program of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO); the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellowship (JP17J08829); the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, grants QYZDJ-SSW-SLH057, QYZDJ-SSW-SYS008); the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellowship; the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG); the Max Planck Partner Group of the MPG and the CAS; the MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI (grants 18KK0090, JP18K13594, JP18K03656, JP18H03721, 18K03709, 18H01245, 25120007); the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Funds; the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan (105-2112-M-001-025-MY3, 106-2112-M-001-011, 106-2119-M-001027, 107-2119-M-001-017, 107-2119-M-001-020, and 107-2119-M-110-005); the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, Fermi Guest Investigator grant 80NSSC17K0649); NASA through the NASA Hubble Fellowship grant #HST-HF2-51431.001-A awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. , for NASA, under contract NAS5-26555; the National Institute of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan; the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant 2016YFA0400704, 2016YFA0400702); the National Science Foundation (NSF, grants AST-0096454, AST-0352953, AST-0521233, AST-0705062, AST-0905844, AST-0922984, AST-1126433, AST-1140030, DGE-1144085, AST-1207704, AST-1207730, AST-1207752, MRI-1228509, OPP-1248097, AST-1310896, AST-1312651, AST-1337663, AST-1440254, AST-1555365, AST-1715061, AST-1615796, AST-1716327, OISE-1743747, AST-1816420); the Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 11573051, 11633006, 11650110427, 10625314, 11721303, 11725312, 11933007); the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, including a Discovery Grant and the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program); the National Youth Thousand Talents Program of China; the National Research Foundation of Korea (the Global PhD Fellowship Grant: grants NRF-2015H1A2A1033752, 2015-R1D1A1A01056807, the Korea Research Fellowship Program: NRF-2015H1D3A1066561); the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI award (grant 639.043.513) and Spinoza Prize SPI 78-409; the New Scientific Frontiers with Precision Radio Interferometry Fellowship awarded by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which is a facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa; the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) national infrastructure, for the provisioning of its facilities/observational support (OSO receives funding through the Swedish Research Council under grant 2017-00648) the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (research at Perimeter Institute is supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science); the Princeton/Flatiron Postdoctoral Prize Fellowship; the Russian Science Foundation (grant 17-12-01029); the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (grants AYA2015-63939-C21-P, AYA2016-80889-P); the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709); the Toray Science Foundation; the US Department of Energy (USDOE) through the Los Alamos National Laboratory (operated by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the USDOE (Contract 89233218CNA000001)); the Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione Universita e Ricerca through the grant Progetti Premiali 2012-iALMA (CUP C52I13000140001); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730562 RadioNet; ALMA North America Development Fund; the Academia Sinica; Chandra TM6-17006X. This work used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), supported by NSF grant ACI-1548562, and CyVerse, supported by NSF grants DBI-0735191, DBI-1265383, and DBI1743442. XSEDE Stampede2 resource at TACC was allocated through TGAST170024 and TG-AST080026N. XSEDE JetStream resource at PTI and TACC was allocated through AST170028. The simulations were performed in part on the SuperMUC cluster at the LRZ in Garching, on the LOEWE cluster in CSC in Frankfurt, and on the HazelHen cluster at the HLRS in Stuttgart. This research was enabled in part by support provided by Compute Ontario (http://computeontario.ca), Calcul Quebec (http://www. calculquebec.ca) and Compute Canada (http://www.computecanada.ca).We thank the sta ff at the participating observatories, correlation centers, and institutions for their enthusiastic support. This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2017.1.00841.V. ALMA is a partnership of the European Southern Observatory (ESO; Europe, representing its member states), NSF, and National Institutes of Natural Sciences of Japan, together with National Research Council (Canada), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST; Taiwan), Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA; Taiwan), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI; Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI)/NRAO, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The NRAO is a facility of the NSF operated under cooperative agreement by AUI. APEX is a collaboration between the Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie (Germany), ESO, and the Onsala Space Observatory (Sweden). The SMA is a joint project between the SAO and ASIAA and is funded by the Smithsonian Institution and the Academia Sinica. The JCMT is operated by the East Asian Observatory on behalf of the NAOJ, ASIAA, and KASI, as well as the Ministry of Finance of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Key R&D Program (No. 2017YFA0402700) of China. Additional funding support for the JCMT is provided by the Science and Technologies Facility Council (UK) and participating universities in the UK and Canada. The LMT is a project operated by the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica, y Electronica (Mexico) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA). The IRAM 30m telescope on Pico Veleta, Spain is operated by IRAM and supported by CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), MPG (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Germany) and IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional, Spain). The SMT is operated by the Arizona Radio Observatory, a part of the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona, with financial support of operations from the State of Arizona and financial support for instrumentation development from the NSF. The SPT is supported by the National Science Foundation through grant PLR-1248097. Partial support is also provided by the NSF Physics Frontier Center grant PHY-1125897 to the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, the Kavli Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant GBMF 947. The SPT hydrogen maser was provided on loan from the GLT, courtesy of ASIAA. The EHTC has received generous donations of FPGA chips from Xilinx Inc., under the Xilinx University Program. The EHTC has benefited from technology shared under open-source license by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER). The EHT project is grateful to T4Science and Microsemi for their assistance with Hydrogen Masers. This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System. We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the extended staff of the ALMA, both from the inception of the ALMA Phasing Project through the observational campaigns of 2017 and 2018. We would like to thank A. Deller and W. Brisken for EHT-specific support with the use of DiFX. We acknowledge the significance that Maunakea, where the SMA and JCMT EHT stations are located, has for the indigenous Hawaiian people. The software presented in this work makes use of the Numpy (van derWalt et al. 2011), Scipy (Jones et al. 2001), Astropy (Astropy Collaboration 2013, 2018) libraries and the KERN software bundle (Molenaar & Smirnov 2018).

We present component-separated maps of the primary cosmic microwave background/kinematic Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) amplitude and the thermal SZ Compton-y parameter, created using data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and the Planck satellite. These maps, which cover the ∼2500 deg2 of the southern sky imaged by the SPT-SZ survey, represent a significant improvement over previous such products available in this region by virtue of their higher angular resolution ( 1 .′ 25 for our highest-resolution Compton-y maps) and lower noise at small angular scales. In this work we detail the construction of these maps using linear combination techniques, including our method for limiting the correlation of our lowest-noise Compton-y map products with the cosmic infrared background. We perform a range of validation tests on these data products to test our sky modeling and combination algorithms, and we find good performance in all of these tests. Recognizing the potential utility of these data products for a wide range of astrophysical and cosmological analyses, including studies of the gas properties of galaxies, groups, and clusters, we make these products publicly available at http://pole.uchicago.edu/public/data/sptsz_ymap and on the NASA/LAMBDA website.

International audience; Change history: In this Letter, the Acknowledgements section should have included the following sentence: "The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.". This omission has been corrected online.

We report the final results of our study of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) with the BIMA array. Over 1000 hours of observation were dedicated to this project exploring CMB anisotropy on scales between 1' and 2' in eighteen 6.6' FWHM fields. In the analysis of the CMB power spectrum, the visibility data is divided into two bins corresponding to different angular scales. Modeling the observed excess power as a flat band of average multipole ell= 5237, we find Delta T_1^2=220_{-120}^{+140} muK^2 at 68% confidence and Delta T_1^2 >0 muK^2 with 94.7% confidence. In a second band with average multipole of ell = 8748, we find Delta T_2^2 consistent with zero, and an upper limit 880 muK^2 at 95% confidence. An extensive series of tests and supplemental observations with the VLA provide strong evidence against systematic errors or radio point sources being the source of the observed excess power. The dominant source of anisotropy on these scales is expected to arise from the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in a population of distant galaxy clusters. If the excess power is due to the SZ effect, we can place constraints on the normalization of the matter power spectrum sigma_8 = 1.03^{+0.20}_{-0.29} at 68% confidence. The distribution of pixel fluxes in the BIMA images are found to be consistent with simulated observations of the expected SZ background and rule out instrumental noise or radio sources as the source of the observed excess power with similar confidence to the detection of excess power. Follow-up optical observations to search for galaxy over-densities anti-correlated with flux in the BIMA images, as might be expected from the SZ effect, proved to be inconclusive.

We present the analysis of the complete 3-year data set obtained with the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) polarization experiment, operating from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station. Additional data obtained at the end of the 2002 Austral winter and throughout the 2003 season were added to the data from which the first detection of polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation was reported. The analysis of the combined data supports, with increased statistical power, all of the conclusions drawn from the initial data set. In particular, the detection of E-mode polarization is increased to 6.3 sigma confidence level, TE cross-polarization is detected at 2.9 sigma, and B-mode polarization is consistent with zero, with an upper limit well below the level of the detected E-mode polarization. The results are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the cosmological model that has emerged from CMB temperature measurements. The analysis also demonstrates that contamination of the data by known sources of foreground emission is insignificant.

We describe the design and current status of the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI), a compact cm-wave interferometer operating at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station. With 20-cm diameter primary antenna elements operating over the frequency range 26 − 36 GHz, DASI is optimized to measure the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) over the multipole range 140 − 920, (corresponding to scales of 25′ − 2°.6), as well as make high-sensitivity maps of the microwave sky. The telescope was built at the University of Chicago and deployed at the South Pole during the 1999-2000 austral summer.

We report the results of our continued study of arcminute scale anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array. The survey consists of ten independent fields selected for low infrared dust emission and lack of bright radio point sources. With observations from the Very Large Array (VLA) at 4.8 GHz, we have identified point sources which could act as contaminants in estimates of the CMB power spectrum and removed them in the analysis. Modeling the observed power spectrum with a single flat band power with average multipole of \ell_{eff}=6864, we find dT=14.2^{+4.8}_{-6.0} \mu K at 68% confidence. The signal in the visibility data exceeds the expected contribution from instrumental noise with 96.5% confidence. We have also divided the data into two bins corresponding to different spatial resolutions in the power spectrum. We find dT_1=16.6^{+5.3}_{-5.9} \mu K at 68% confidence for CMB flat band power described by an average multipole of \ell_{eff}=5237 and dT_2

We present 15 images from the global mm- VLBI sessions in 1990 April at 100 GHz and 1993 April at 86 GHz. These observations probe the central engines of the 16 observed AGN's with up to 50 as resolution. Among other sources previously observed with 3m m VLBI we present the rst 3 mm maps of 0735+178, 0748+126, 1055+018, 2145+067, and CTA 102, in total we have been able to image 13 out of the 16 observed sources. 6 out of the 13 imaged sources observed exhibit curvature and rapid structural changes, although the low dynamic range in two thirds of the maps limits the detec- tion of weak features. Most of the sources have unresolved cores even at this high resolution. There is substantial ev- idence that the observed sources can be grouped into two general groups: A misaligned population with parsec scale jets in the form of low pitch helices and an aligned popu- lation with straight jets with small changes in PA due to intrinsic bends.

We present observations of SPT-S J053816-5030.8, a gravitationally lensed dusty star-forming galaxy (DSFG) at z = 2.7817 that was first discovered at millimeter wavelengths by the South Pole Telescope. SPT 0538-50 is typical of the brightest sources found by wide-field millimeter-wavelength surveys, being lensed by an intervening galaxy at moderate redshift (in this instance, at z = 0.441). We present a wide array of multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric data on SPT 0538-50, including data from ALMA, Herschel PACS and SPIRE, Hubble, Spitzer, the Very Large Telescope, ATCA, APEX, and the Submillimeter Array. We use high-resolution imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope to de-blend SPT 0538-50, separating DSFG emission from that of the foreground lens. Combined with a source model derived from ALMA imaging (which suggests a magnification factor of 21 ± 4), we derive the intrinsic properties of SPT 0538-50, including the stellar mass, far-IR luminosity, star formation rate, molecular gas mass, and - using molecular line fluxes - the excitation conditions within the interstellar medium. The derived physical properties argue that we are witnessing compact, merger-driven star formation in SPT 0538-50 similar to local starburst galaxies and unlike that seen in some other DSFGs at this epoch. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..

Sensors play a key role in detecting both charged particles and photons for all three frontiers in Particle Physics. The signals from an individual sensor that can be used include ionization deposited, phonons created, or light emitted from excitations of the material. The individual sensors are then typically arrayed for detection of individual particles or groups of particles. Mounting of new, ever higher performance experiments, often depend on advances in sensors in a range of performance characteristics. These performance metrics can include position resolution for passing particles, time resolution on particles impacting the sensor, and overall rate capabilities. In addition the feasible detector area and cost frequently provides a limit to what can be built and therefore is often another area where improvements are important. Finally, radiation tolerance is becoming a requirement in a broad array of devices. We present a status report on a broad category of sensors, including challenges for the future and work in progress to solve those challenges.

We use measurements from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) cluster survey in combination with X-ray measurements to constrain cosmological parameters. We present a statistical method that fits for the scaling relations of the SZ and X-ray cluster observables with mass while jointly fitting for cosmology. The method is generalizable to multiple cluster observables, and self-consistently accounts for the effects of the cluster selection and uncertainties in cluster mass calibration on the derived cosmological constraints. We apply this method to a data set consisting of an SZ-selected catalog of 18 galaxy clusters at z > 0.3 from the first 178 deg^2 of the 2500 deg^2 SPT-SZ survey, with 14 clusters having X-ray observations from either Chandra or XMM-Newton. Assuming a spatially flat ΛCDM cosmological model, we find the SPT cluster sample constrains σ_8(Ω_m /0.25)^(0.30) = 0.785 ± 0.037. In combination with measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum from the SPT and the seven-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data, the SPT cluster sample constrains σ_8 = 0.795 ± 0.016 and Ω_m = 0.255 ± 0.016, a factor of 1.5 improvement on each parameter over the CMB data alone. We consider several extensions beyond the ΛCDM model by including the following as free parameters: the dark energy equation of state (w), the sum of the neutrino masses (Σm ν), the effective number of relativistic species (N_(eff)), and a primordial non-Gaussianity (f_(NL)). We find that adding the SPT cluster data significantly improves the constraints on w and Σm_ν beyond those found when using measurements of the CMB, supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and the Hubble constant. Considering each extension independently, we best constrain w = –0.973 ± 0.063 and the sum of neutrino masses Σm_ν < 0.28 eV at 95% confidence, a factor of 1.25 and 1.4 improvement, respectively, over the constraints without clusters. Assuming a ΛCDM model with a free N_(eff) and Σm_ν, we measure N_(eff) = 3.91 ± 0.42 and constrain Σm_ν < 0.63 eV at 95% confidence. We also use the SPT cluster sample to constrain f_(NL) = –220 ± 317, consistent with zero primordial non-Gaussianity. Finally, we discuss the current systematic limitations due to the cluster mass calibration, and future improvements for the recently completed 2500 deg^2 SPT-SZ survey. The survey has detected ~500 clusters with a median redshift of ~0.5 and a median mass of ~2.3 × 10^(14) M_☉ h^(–1) and, when combined with an improved cluster mass calibration and existing external cosmological data sets will significantly improve constraints on w.

We present new results from global VLBI observations of the highly active blazar OJ287 at 7 and 3 mm wavelengths. We show the first map of the mas to sub-mas structure of OJ287 at 43 GHz and discus ...

The SPTpol camera is a two-color, polarization-sensitive bolometer receiver, and was installed on the 10 meter South Pole Telescope in January 2012. SPTpol is designed to study the faint polarization signals in the Cosmic Microwave Background, with two primary scientific goals. One is to constrain the tensor-to-scalar ratio of perturbations in the primordial plasma, and thus constrain the space of permissible in inflationary models. The other is to measure the weak lensing effect of large-scale structure on CMB polarization, which can be used to constrain the sum of neutrino masses as well as other growth-related parameters. The SPTpol focal plane consists of seven 84-element monolithic arrays of 150 GHz pixels (588 total) and 180 individual 90 GHz single- pixel modules. In this paper we present the design and characterization of the 90 GHz modules.

We report 31 GHz CARMA observations of IDCS J1426.5+3508, an infrared-selected galaxy cluster at z = 1.75. A Sunyaev-Zel'dovich decrement is detected towards this cluster, indicating a total mass of M200 = (4.3 +/- 1.1) x 10^{14} Msun in agreement with the approximate X-ray mass of ~5 x 10^{14} Msun. IDCS J1426.5+3508 is by far the most distant cluster yet detected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, and the most massive z >= 1.4 galaxy cluster found to date. Despite the mere ~1% probability of finding it in the 8.82 deg^2 IRAC Distant Cluster Survey, IDCS J1426.5+3508 is not completely unexpected in LCDM once the area of large, existing surveys is considered. IDCS J1426.5+3508 is, however, among the rarest, most extreme clusters ever discovered, and indeed is an evolutionary precursor to the most massive known clusters at all redshifts. We discuss how imminent, highly sensitive Sunyaev-Zel'dovich experiments will complement infrared techniques for statistical studies of the formation of the most massive galaxy clusters in the z > 1.5 Universe, including potential precursors to IDCS J1426.5+3508., 9 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal

A linked submillimeter-wave interferometer using the CSO 10.4 m and the JCMT 15 m telescopes located on Mauna Kea at an elevation of 4200 m, has been built and tested successfully. The capabilities of the instrument and an outline of the type of observations that can be made with a single, fixed-baseline interferometer are given. In particular, an experiment to detect gas infalling onto low-mass protostellar sources is proposed. The design of the instrument is described briefly and the successful results of the first tests are summarized.

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) has nearly completed a 2500-square-degree survey of the southern sky in three frequency bands. Here we present the first public release of SPT maps and associated data products. We present arcminute-resolution maps at 150 GHz and 220 GHz of an approximately 95-square-degree field centered at R.A. 82.7 degrees, decl. -55 degrees. The field was observed to a depth of approximately 17 micro-K arcmin at 150 GHz and 41 micro-K arcmin at 220 GHz during the 2008 austral winter season. Two variations on map filtering and map projection are presented, one tailored for producing catalogs of galaxy clusters detected through their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect signature and one tailored for producing catalogs of emissive sources. We describe the data processing pipeline, and we present instrument response functions, filter transfer functions, and map noise properties. All data products described in this paper are available for download at this http URL and from the NASA Legacy Archive for Microwave Background Data Analysis server. This is the first step in the eventual release of data from the full 2500-square-degree SPT survey.

We present results of X-ray observations of a sample of 15 clusters selected via their imprint on the cosmic microwave background from the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect. These clusters are a subset of the first SZ-selected cluster catalog, obtained from observations of 178 deg^2 of sky surveyed by the South Pole Telescope (SPT). Using X-ray observations with Chandra and XMM-Newton, we estimate the temperature, T_X, and mass, M_g, of the intracluster medium within r_500 for each cluster. From these, we calculate Y_X = M_(g)T_X and estimate the total cluster mass using an M_(500)-Y_X scaling relation measured from previous X-ray studies. The integrated Comptonization, Y SZ, is derived from the SZ measurements, using additional information from the X-ray-measured gas density profiles and a universal temperature profile. We calculate scaling relations between the X-ray and SZ observables and find results generally consistent with other measurements and the expectations from simple self-similar behavior. Specifically, we fit a Y_(SZ)-Y_X relation and find a normalization of 0.82 ± 0.07, marginally consistent with the predicted ratio of Y_(SZ)/Y_X = 0.91 ± 0.01 that would be expected from the density and temperature models used in this work. Using the Y_X-derived mass estimates, we fit a Y_(SZ)-M_500 relation and find a slope consistent with the self-similar expectation of Y_(SZ) ∝ M^(5/3) with a normalization consistent with predictions from other X-ray studies. We find that the SZ mass estimates, derived from cosmological simulations of the SPT survey, are lower by a factor of 0.78 ± 0.06 relative to the X-ray mass estimates. This offset is at a level of 1.3σ when considering the ~15% systematic uncertainty for the simulation-based SZ masses. Overall, the X-ray measurements confirm that the scaling relations of the SZ-selected clusters are consistent with the properties of other X-ray-selected samples of massive clusters, even allowing for the broad redshift range (0.29 < z < 1.08) of the sample.

We have investigated the thermal transport of long, narrow beams of silicon nitride at cryogenic temperatures. Simultaneously employing a superconducting Transition Edge Sensor (TES) as both a heater and a sensor, we measured the thermal conductance of 1 μm thick silicon nitride beams of different lateral dimensions. Based upon these measurements, we calculate the thermal parameters of the beams. We utilize a boundary limited phonon scattering model and assume the phonon mean free path to be temperature independent in the calculation. In the temperature range from 300 mK to 530 mK, the following results are obtained for 20 (30) μm beams: the volume heat capacity is 0.083 T+0.509 T3 J/m3‐K, the width dependent phonon mean free path is 9.60 (11.05) μm, and the width dependent thermal conductivity is 5.60×10−3 T+3.41×10−2 T3 (6.50×10−3 T+3.93×10−2 T3) W/m‐K.

We use data from the first 100 square-degree field observed by the South Pole Telescope (SPT) in 2008 to measure the angular power spectrum of temperature anisotropies contributed by the background of dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) at millimeter wavelengths. From the auto and cross-correlation of 150 and 220 GHz SPT maps, we significantly detect both Poisson distributed and, for the first time at millimeter wavelengths, clustered components of power from a background of DSFGs. The spectral indices between 150 and 220 GHz of the Poisson and clustered components are found to be 3.86 +- 0.23 and 3.8 +- 1.3 respectively, implying a steep scaling of the dust emissivity index beta ~ 2. The Poisson and clustered power detected in SPT, BLAST (at 600, 860, and 1200 GHz), and Spitzer (1900 GHz) data can be understood in the context of a simple model in which all galaxies have the same graybody spectrum with dust emissivity index of beta = 2 and dust temperature T_d = 34 K. In this model, half of the 150 GHz background light comes from redshifts greater than 3.2. We also use the SPT data to place an upper limit on the amplitude of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich power spectrum at l = 3000 of 13 uK^2 at 95% confidence., 18 pages, 9 figures

We report cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum measurements from the first 100 sq. deg. field observed by the South Pole Telescope (SPT) at 150 and 220 GHz. On angular scales where the primary CMB anisotropy is dominant, ell ~< 3000, the SPT power spectrum is consistent with the standard LambdaCDM cosmology. On smaller scales, we see strong evidence for a point source contribution, consistent with a population of dusty, star-forming galaxies. After we mask bright point sources, anisotropy power on angular scales of 3000 < ell < 9500 is detected with a signal-to-noise > 50 at both frequencies. We combine the 150 and 220 GHz data to remove the majority of the point source power, and use the point source subtracted spectrum to detect Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) power at 2.6 sigma. At ell=3000, the SZ power in the subtracted bandpowers is 4.2 +/- 1.5 uK^2, which is significantly lower than the power predicted by a fiducial model using WMAP5 cosmological parameters. This discrepancy may suggest that contemporary galaxy cluster models overestimate the thermal pressure of intracluster gas. Alternatively, this result can be interpreted as evidence for lower values of sigma8. When combined with an estimate of the kinetic SZ contribution, the measured SZ amplitude shifts sigma8 from the primary CMB anisotropy derived constraint of 0.794 +/- 0.028 down to 0.773 +/- 0.025. The uncertainty in the constraint on sigma8 from this analysis is dominated by uncertainties in the theoretical modeling required to predict the amplitude of the SZ power spectrum for a given set of cosmological parameters., 28 pages, 11 figures, submitted to ApJ

We present the design, microfabrication and assembly of dual‐polarization absorber‐coupled Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometer detectors for cosmic microwave background B‐mode polarization studies. The device consists of two separate dies incorporating suspended silicon nitride membranes within silicon frames, carefully aligned perpendicularly and fixtured face‐to‐face. Polarization sensitivity around 95 GHz is provided by a single dipole‐like absorber element; we briefly analyze this absorber‐in‐waveguide configuration in closed form using the EMF method. Proximity effect Mo/Au bilayers provide control of the TES critical temperature between 400 mK and 600 mK, with a normal resistance Rn∼1Ω. DC magnetron sputtering, wet etching, and liftoff were employed for TES fabrication. Optimization of the superconducting Mo thin film utilized independent RF bias applied to the substrate during deposition in a confocal geometry. This technique allows outstanding thin film uniformity and stress to be achieved simu...

The SPT‐SZ is, currently, the most powerful instrument for detecting galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev‐Zel’dovich (SZ) effect. The SPT‐SZ focal plane consists of over 700 background limited TES spiderweb bolometers observing in three different pass bands (90 GHz, 150 GHz, and 220 GHz) readout by a frequency domain SQUID multiplexer. Together with the 10‐m South Pole Telescope, SPT‐SZ has realized exceptional sensitivity at arcminute resolution over a one degree field of view and is the first instrument to discover new galaxy clusters through the SZ effect. We will discuss the SPT‐SZ design and deployment, present initial results from the first two seasons, and outline future survey plans.

We present optical data on prototype polarization sensitive Argonne/KICP detectors fabricated at Argonne National Labs which are designed to be installed on the South Pole Telescope and used to measure the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. The detectors are Mo/Au transition edge sensors (TES) suspended on silicon nitride, with radiation coupled to the TES using a gold bar absorber. Two stacked detectors with bars in orthogonal directions will be used to measure both polarizations. We discuss measurements of the optical bandpass, time constants and cross‐polarization of the detectors.

Using experimental thermal conductivity and volume heat capacity of narrow silicon nitride beams obtained from thermal test structures and a boundary limited phonon scattering model, as well as the heat conduction equation, we analyze the thermal performance of an absorber‐coupled TES polarimeter with finite element method. The polarimeter’s temperature distribution, thermal power readout efficiency, and time constant are calculated. The thermal power readout efficiency of the polarimeter is up to 87% at a low signal modulation frequency, and has a 0.5 dB attenuation at 120 Hz. We also compare a preliminary optical testing result with theoretical expectation.

SPTpol will consist of an 850 element polarization sensitive bolometric camera deployed to the South Pole Telescope in late 2011. This camera is optimized for measurement of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background with arcminute resolution. These measurements will be used to constrain neutrino masses and to constrain the amplitude of gravitational waves from inflation. The camera includes two detector architectures that observe in two different frequency bands. At 150 GHz, SPTpol will use 650 feedhorn‐coupled TES polarimeters fabricated at NIST. At 90 GHz, it will use 200 absorber‐coupled polarimeters developed at Argonne National Lab. The NIST pixels will be coupled to the telescope using a monolithic array of corrugated feeds and the Argonne devices will be coupled with individually machined contoured feeds. The entire focal plane will be readout using a digital frequency‐domain multiplexer system. We provide an overview of the project, describe the detectors and discuss the design of this system.

We present simulations and measurements of a new optical coupling scheme for bolometric detectors for cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization under development by Argonne National Labs and the University of Chicago. We show simulations of the performance and a tolerance analysis of this device along with measurements that validate its performance. Optical measurements of a prototype point to a 90% coupling efficiency with a cross‐polarization below ‐20 dB.

The next generation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiments targeting the signatures of inflation will require unprecedented sensitivities in addition to careful control of systematics. With existing detector technologies approaching the photon noise limit, improvements in system sensitivities must come from ever‐larger focal plane arrays of millimeter‐wave detectors. We report on the design and performance of microfabricated planar orthomode transducer (OMT) coupled TES polarimeters and silicon micromachined platelet feedhorns optimized for scaling to large monolithic arrays. Future versions of these detectors are targeted for deployment in a number of upcoming CMB experiments, including ABS, SPTpol, and ACTpol.

We present data characterizing the optical properties of feedhorn‐coupled TES polarimeters useful for future CMB measurements. In this detector architecture, TES bolometers are coupled to radiation through superconducting microstrip to a planar ortho‐mode transducer inserted into waveguide. Filters in the microstrip define the pass bands for the detectors. We will present measurements of the co‐polar optical efficiency, the cross‐polar isolation and the detector bandpass and compare these results to expectations from simulations.

We present simulations and discuss measurements of a planar orthomode transducer (OMT) being developed for use with bolometric detectors in observations of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This OMT couples radiation from a circular waveguide onto microstrip where it is filtered and then detected. A corrugated feed horn defines the optical beam. Simulations suggest this OMT achieves a coupling efficiency of greater than 96% with cross‐polarization below 1% over 30% bandwidth.

We present results from modeling the electrothermal performance of feedhorn‐coupled transition edge sensor (TES) polarimeters under development for use in cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiments. Each polarimeter couples radiation from a corrugated feedhorn through a planar orthomode transducer, which transmits power from orthogonal polarization modes to two TES bolometers. We model our TES with two‐ and three‐block thermal architectures. We fit the complex impedance data at multiple points in the TES transition. From the fits, we predict the noise spectra. We present comparisons of these predictions to the data for two TESes on a prototype polarimeter.