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Accurate calibration of data is essential for the current generation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. Using data from the Very Small Array (VSA), we describe procedures which will lead to an accuracy of 1 per cent or better for experiments such as the VSA and CBI. Particular attention is paid to the stability of the receiver systems, the quality of the site and frequent observations of reference sources. At 30 GHz the careful correction for atmospheric emission and absorption is shown to be essential for achieving 1 per cent precision. The sources for which a 1 per cent relative flux density calibration was achieved included Cas A, Cyg A, Tau A and NGC 7027 and the planets Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. A flux density, or brightness temperature in the case of the planets, was derived at 33 GHz relative to Jupiter which was adopted as the fundamental calibrator. A spectral index at ∼30 GHz is given for each. Cas A, Tau A, NGC 7027 and Venus were examined for variability. Cas A was found to be decreasing at 0.394 ± 0.019 per cent yr−1 over the period 2001 March to 2004 August. In the same period Tau A was decreasing at 0.22 ± 0.07 per cent yr−1. A survey of the published data showed that the planetary nebula NGC 7027 decreased at 0.16 ± 0.04 per cent yr−1 over the period 1967–2003. Venus showed an insignificant (1.5 ± 1.3 per cent) variation with Venusian illumination. The integrated polarization of Tau A at 33 GHz was found to be 7.8 ± 0.6 per cent at position angle =148°± 3°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS) is an all-sky full-polarization survey at a frequency of 5 GHz, designed to provide complementary data to the all-sky surveys of WMAP and Planck, and future CMB B -mode polarization imaging surveys. The observing frequency has been chosen to provide a signal that is dominated by Galactic synchrotron emission, but suffers little from Faraday rotation, so that the measured polarization directions provide a good template for higher frequency observations, and carry direct information about the Galactic magnetic field. Telescopes in both northern and southern hemispheres with matched optical performance are used to provide all-sky coverage from a ground-based experiment. A continuous-comparison radiometer and a correlation polarimeter on each telescope provide stable imaging properties such that all angular scales from the instrument resolution of 45 arcmin up to full sky are accurately measured. The northern instrument has completed its survey and the southern instrument has started observing. We expect that C-BASS data will significantly improve the component separation analysis of Planck and other CMB data, and will provide important constraints on the properties of anomalous Galactic dust and the Galactic magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Very Small Array (VSA) has been used to survey the to region of the Galactic plane at a resolution of 13 arcmin. This ℓ-range covers a section through the Local, Sagittarius and the Cetus spiral arms. The survey consists of 44 pointings of the VSA, each with an rms sensitivity of ∼90 mJy beam−1. These data are combined in a mosaic to produce a map of the area. The majority of the sources within the map are H ii regions. The main aim of the programme was to investigate the anomalous radio emission from the warm dust in individual H ii regions of the survey. This programme required making a spectrum extending from GHz frequencies to the far-infrared (FIR) IRAS frequencies for each of nine strong sources selected to lie in unconfused areas. It was necessary to process each of the frequency maps with the same coverage as was used for the VSA 33 GHz observations. The additional radio data were at 1.4, 2.7, 4.85, 8.35, 10.55, 14.35 and 94 GHz in addition to the 100, 60, 25 and 12 μm IRAS bands. From each spectrum the free–free, thermal dust and anomalous dust emission were determined for each H ii region. The mean ratio of 33 GHz anomalous flux density to FIR 100 μm flux density for the nine selected H ii regions was . When combined with six H ii regions previously observed with the VSA and the Cosmic Background Imager, the anomalous emission from warm dust in H ii regions is detected with a 33 GHz emissivity of K (MJy sr−1)−1 (11.5σ). This level of anomalous emission is 0.3 to 0.5 of that detected in cool dust clouds. A radio spectrum of the H ii region anomalous emission covering GHz frequencies is constructed. It has the shape expected for spinning dust composed of very small grains. The anomalous radio emission in H ii regions is on average per cent of the radio continuum at 33 GHz. Another result is that the excess (i.e. non-free–free) emission from H ii regions at 94 GHz correlates strongly with the 100 μm emission; it is also inversely correlated with the dust temperature. Both these latter results are as expected for very large grain dust emission. The anomalous emission on the other hand is expected to originate in very small spinning grains and correlates more closely with the 25 μm emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used the Rayner and Best smooth tests of goodness-of-fit to study the Gaussianity of the Very Small Array (VSA) data. These tests are designed to be sensitive to the presence of ‘smooth’ deviations from a given distribution, and are applied to the data transformed into normalized signal-to-noise eigenmodes. In a previous work, they have been already adapted and applied to simulated observations of interferometric experiments. In this paper, we extend the practical implementation of the method to deal with mosaiced observations, by introducing the Arnoldi algorithm. This method permits us to solve large eigenvalue problems with low computational cost. Out of the 41 published VSA individual pointings dedicated to cosmological [cosmic microwave background (CMB)] observations, 37 are found to be consistent with Gaussianity, whereas four pointings show deviations from Gaussianity. In two of them, these deviations can be explained as residual systematic effects of a few visibility points which, when corrected, have a negligible impact on the angular power spectrum. The non-Gaussianity found in the other two (adjacent) pointings seems to be associated to a local deviation of the power spectrum of these fields with respect to the common power spectrum of the complete data set, at angular scales of the third acoustic peak (ℓ= 700–900). No evidence of residual systematics is found in this case, and unsubtracted point sources are not a plausible explanation either. If those visibilities are removed, the differences of the new power spectrum with respect to the published one only affect three bins. A cosmological analysis based on this new VSA power spectrum alone shows no differences in the parameter constraints with respect to our published results, except for the physical baryon density, which decreases by 10 per cent. Finally, the method has been also used to analyse the VSA observations in the Corona Borealis supercluster region. Our method finds a clear deviation (99.82 per cent) with respect to Gaussianity in the second-order moment of the distribution, and which cannot be explained as systematic effects. A detailed study shows that the non-Gaussianity is produced in scales of ℓ≈ 500, and that this deviation is intrinsic to the data (in the sense that cannot be explained in terms of a Gaussian field with a different power spectrum). This result is consistent with the Gaussianity studies in the Corona Borealis data presented in Génova-Santos et al. which show a strong decrement that cannot be explained as primordial CMB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present coincident observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the Very Small Array (VSA) and Cosmic Background Imager (CBI) telescopes. The consistency of the full data sets is tested in the map plane and the Fourier plane, prior to the usual compression of CMB data into flat bandpowers. Of the three mosaics observed by each group, two are found to be in excellent agreement. In the third mosaic, there is a 2σ discrepancy between the correlation of the data and the level expected from Monte Carlo simulations. This is shown to be consistent with increased phase calibration errors on VSA data during summer observations. We also consider the parameter estimation method of each group. The key difference is the use of the variance window function in place of the bandpower window function, an approximation used by the VSA group. A re-evaluation of the VSA parameter estimates, using bandpower windows, shows that the two methods yield consistent results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate cosmological parameters using data obtained by the Very Small Array (VSA) in its extended configuration, in conjunction with a variety of other cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and external priors. Within the flatΛ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, we find that the inclusion of high-resolution data from the VSA modifies the limits on the cosmological parameters as compared to those suggested by theWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe(WMAP) alone, while still remaining compatible with their estimates. We find thatandforWMAPand VSA when no external prior is included. On extending the model to include a running spectral index of density fluctuations, we find that the inclusion of VSA data leads to a negative running at a level of more than 95 per cent confidence (), something that is not significantly changed by the inclusion of a stringent prior on the Hubble constant. Inclusion of prior information from the 2dF galaxy redshift survey reduces the significance of the result by constraining the value ofΩm. We discuss the veracity of this result in the context of various systematic effects and also a broken spectral index model. We also constrain the fraction of neutrinos and find thatat 95 per cent confidence, which corresponds towhen all neutrino masses are equal. Finally, we consider the global best fit within a general cosmological model with 12 parameters and find consistency with other analyses available in the literature. The evidence foris only marginal within this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present deepKa-band () observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) made with the extended Very Small Array (VSA). This configuration produces a naturally weighted synthesized FWHM beamwidth of∼11 arcmin, which covers anℓ range of 300 to 1500. On these scales, foreground extragalactic sources can be a major source of contamination to the CMB anisotropy. This problem has been alleviated by identifying sources at 15 GHz with the Ryle Telescope and then monitoring these sources at 33 GHz using a single-baseline interferometer collocated with the VSA. Sources with flux densities≳20 mJy at 33 GHz are subtracted from the data. In addition, we calculate a statistical correction for the small residual contribution from weaker sources that are below the detection limit of the survey.The CMB power spectrum corrected for Galactic foregrounds and extragalactic point sources is presented. A totalℓ range of 150–1500 is achieved by combining the complete extended array data with earlier VSA data in a compact configuration. Our resolution ofallows the first three acoustic peaks to be clearly delineated. This is achieved by using mosaiced observations in seven regions covering a total area of. There is good agreement with theWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe(WMAP) data up towhereWMAPdata run out of resolution. For higherℓ values out to, the agreement in power spectrum amplitudes with other experiments is also very good despite differences in frequency and observing technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have tested Very Small Array (VSA) observations of three regions of sky for the presence of non-Gaussianity, using high-order cumulants, Minkowski functionals, a wavelet-based test and a Bayesian joint power spectrum/non-Gaussianity analysis. We find the data from two regions to be consistent with Gaussianity. In the third region, we obtain a 96.7 per cent detection of non-Gaussianity using the wavelet test. We perform simulations to characterize the tests, and conclude that this is consistent with expected residual point source contamination. There is therefore no evidence that this detection is of cosmological origin. Our simulations show that the tests would be sensitive to any residual point sources above the data source subtraction level of 20 mJy. The tests are also sensitive to cosmic string networks at an rms fluctuation level of 105 μK (i.e. equivalent to the best-fitting observed value). They are not sensitive to string-induced fluctuations if an equal rms of Gaussian cold dark matter fluctuations is added, thereby reducing the rms fluctuations due to the strings network to 74 μK. We especially highlight the usefulness of non-Gaussianity testing in eliminating systematic effects from our data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have observed the cosmic microwave background (CMB) in three regions of sky using the Very Small Array (VSA) in an extended configuration with antennas of beamwidth 2° at 34 GHz. Combined with data from previous VSA observations using a more compact array with larger beamwidth, we measure the power spectrum of the primordial CMB anisotropies between angular multipoles ℓ = 160 and 1400. Such measurements at high ℓ are vital for breaking degeneracies in parameter estimation from the CMB power spectrum and other cosmological data. The power spectrum clearly resolves the first three acoustic peaks, shows the expected fall-off in power at high ℓ and starts to constrain the position and height of a fourth peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We constrain the basic cosmological parameters using the first observations by the Very Small Array (VSA) in its extended configuration, together with existing cosmic microwave background data and other cosmological observations. We estimate cosmological parameters for four different models of increasing complexity. In each case, careful consideration is given to implied priors and the Bayesian evidence is calculated in order to perform model selection. We find that the data are most convincingly explained by a simple flat 3CDM cosmology without tensor modes. In this case, combining just the VSA and COBE data sets yields the 68 per cent confidence intervals Ω[SUBb]h[SUP2] = 0.034[SUP+0.007 SUB-.007], Ω[SUBdm]h[SUP2] = 0.18[SUP+0.06 SUB-.04], h = 0.72[SUP+0.15 SUB-.013], n[SUBs] = 1.07[SUP0.06 SUB-0.06], σ[SUB8] = 1.17[SUP+0.25 SUB-.20]. The most general model considered includes spatial curvature, tensor modes, massive neutrinos and a parametrized equation of state for the dark energy. In this case, by combining all recent cosmological data, we find, in particular, a 95 per cent limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio R < 0.63 and on the fraction of massive neutrinos f[SUBv]>0.11; we also obtain the 68 per cent confidence interval w = -1.06[SUP+0.20,SUB-0.25] on the equation of state of dark energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]