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Title:
Three-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Foreground Polarization
Authors:
Kogut, A.; Dunkley, J.; Bennett, C. L.; Doré, O.; Gold, B.; Halpern, M.; Hinshaw, G.; Jarosik, N.; Komatsu, E.; Nolta, M. R.; Odegard, N.; Page, L.; Spergel, D. N.; Tucker, G. S.; Weiland, J. L.; Wollack, E.; Wright, E. L.
Affiliation:
AA(Code 665, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; .), AB(Department of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-0708.), AC(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686.), AD(Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, 60 St. George Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H8, Canada.; Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001.), AE(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686.), AF(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada.), AG(Code 665, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; .), AH(Department of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-0708.), AI(Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, 2511 Speedway, RLM 15.306, Austin, TX 78712.), AJ(Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, 60 St. George Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H8, Canada.), AK(Code 665, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; .; ADNET Systems, 164 Rollins Avenue, Suite 303, Rockville, MD 20852.), AL(Department of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-0708.), AM(Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001.), AN(Department of Physics, Brown University, 182 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02912-1843.), AO(Code 665, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; .; ADNET Systems, 164 Rollins Avenue, Suite 303, Rockville, MD 20852.), AP(Code 665, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; .), AQ(PAB 3-909, UCLA Physics and Astronomy, P.O. Box 951547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547.)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 665, Issue 1, pp. 355-362. (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
08/2007
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
Cosmology: Cosmic Microwave Background, ISM: Dust, Extinction, Polarization, Radio Continuum: ISM
DOI:
10.1086/519754
Bibliographic Code:
2007ApJ...665..355K

Abstract

We present a full-sky model of polarized Galactic microwave emission based on 3 years of observations by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) at frequencies from 23 to 94 GHz. The model compares maps of the Stokes Q and U components from each of the five WMAP frequency bands in order to separate synchrotron from dust emission, taking into account the spatial and frequency dependence of the synchrotron and dust components. This simple two-component model of the interstellar medium accounts for at least 97% of the polarized emission in the WMAP maps of the microwave sky. Synchrotron emission dominates the polarized foregrounds at frequencies below 50 GHz, and is comparable to the dust contribution at 65 GHz. The spectral index of the synchrotron component, derived solely from polarization data, is -3.2 averaged over the full sky, with a modestly flatter index on the Galactic plane. The synchrotron emission has mean polarization fraction 2%-4% in the Galactic plane and rising to over 20% at high latitude, with prominent features such as the north Galactic spur more polarized than the diffuse component. Thermal dust emission has polarization fraction 1% near the Galactic center, rising to 6% at the anticenter. Diffuse emission from high-latitude dust is also polarized with mean fractional polarization 0.036+/-0.011.

WMAP is the result of a partnership between Princeton University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Scientific guidance is provided by the WMAP Science Team.


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