Fractional polarization of extragalactic sources in the 500 deg² SPTpol survey

Journal Article · Mon Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2905· OSTI ID:1607541

Gupta, N. ^[1]; Reichardt, C. L.  ^[1]; Ade, P. A. R. ^[2]; Anderson, A. J. ^[3]; Archipley, M. ^[4]; Austermann, J. E. ^[5]; Avva, J. S. ^[6]; Beall, J. A. ^[5]; Bender, A. N. ^[7]; Benson, B. A. ^[8]; Bianchini, F. ^[1]; Bleem, L. E. ^[7]; Carlstrom, J. E. ^[9]; Chang, C. L. ^[10]; Chiang, H. C. ^[11]; Citron, R. ^[12]; Moran, C. Corbett ^[13]; Crawford, T. M. ^[14]; Crites, A. T. ^[15]; de Haan, T. ^[16] ; Dobbs, M. A. ^[17]; Everett, W. ^[18]; Feng, C. ^[19]; Gallicchio, J. ^[20]; George, E. M. ^[21]; Gilbert, A. ^[22]; Halverson, N. W. ^[23]; Harrington, N. ^[6]; Henning, J. W. ^[7]; Hilton, G. C. ^[5]; Holder, G. P. ^[24]; Holzapfel, W. L. ^[6]; Hou, Z. ^[25]; Hrubes, J. D. ^[12]; Huang, N. ^[6]; Hubmayr, J. ^[5]; Irwin, K. D. ^[26]; Knox, L. ^[27]; Lee, A. T. ^[16]; Li, D. ^[28]; Lowitz, A. ^[12]; Luong-Van, D. ^[12]; Marrone, D. P. ^[29]; McMahon, J. J. ^[30]; Meyer, S. S. ^[31]; Mocanu, L. M. ^[14]; Mohr, J. J. ^[32]; Montgomery, J. ^[22]; Nadolski, A. ^[19]; Natoli, T. ^[33]; Nibarger, J. P. ^[5]; Noble, G. I. ^[22]; Novosad, V. ^[34]; Padin, S. ^[15]; Patil, S. ^[1]; Pryke, C. ^[35]; Ruhl, J. E. ^[36]; Saliwanchik, B. R. ^[11]; Sayre, J. T. ^[23]; Schaffer, K. K. ^[37]; Shirokoff, E. ^[38]; Sievers, C. ^[12]; Smecher, G. ^[39]; Staniszewski, Z. ^[40]; Stark, A. A. ^[41]; Story, K. T. ^[42]; Switzer, E. R. ^[43]; Tucker, C. ^[2]; Vanderlinde, K. ^[44]; Veach, T. ^[45]; Vieira, J. D. ^[19]; Wang, G. ^[46]; Whitehorn, N. ^[47]; Williamson, R. ^[48]; Wu, W. L. K. ^[25]; Yefremenko, V. ^[46]; Zhang, L. ^[4]

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1. School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
2. School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3XQ, UK
3. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, MS209, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
4. Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Str, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
5. NIST Quantum Devices Group, 325 Broadway Mailcode 817.03, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
6. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
7. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
8. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, MS209, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
9. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
10. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
11. School of Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
12. University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
13. TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
14. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
15. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Keck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology, MS 249-17, 1216 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
16. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA, Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
17. Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 Rue University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8, Canada, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR Program in Cosmology and Gravity, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada
18. Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
19. Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Str, Urbana, IL 61801, USA, Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1110 W. Green Str, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
20. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Harvey Mudd College, 301 Platt Blvd., Claremont, CA 91711, USA
21. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA, European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str 2, Garching bei München D-85748, Germany
22. Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 Rue University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8, Canada
23. Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
24. Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Str, Urbana, IL 61801, USA, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR Program in Cosmology and Gravity, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada, Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1110 W. Green Str, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
25. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
26. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, Department of Physics, Stanford University, 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
27. Department of Physics, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
28. NIST Quantum Devices Group, 325 Broadway Mailcode 817.03, Boulder, CO 80305, USA, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
29. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
30. Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 450 Church Str, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
31. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
32. Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Scheinerstr 1, Munich D-81679, Germany, Excellence Cluster Origins, Boltzmannstr. 2, Garching D-85748, Germany, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr D-85748 Garching, Germany
33. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada
34. Materials Sciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
35. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Str S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
36. Department of Physics, Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
37. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 USA, Department of Liberal Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 112 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603, USA
38. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
39. Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 Rue University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8, Canada, Three-Speed Logic, Inc., Vancouver, B.C. V6A 2J8, Canada
40. Department of Physics, Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
41. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Str, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
42. Department of Physics, Stanford University, 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
43. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
44. Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada
45. Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742, USA
46. High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
47. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
48. University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA

We study the polarization properties of extragalactic sources at 95 and 150 GHz in the SPTpol 500 deg² survey. We estimate the polarized power by stacking maps at known source positions, and correct for noise bias by subtracting the mean polarized power at random positions in the maps. We show that the method is unbiased using a set of simulated maps with similar noise properties to the real SPTpol maps. We find a flux-weighted mean-squared polarization fraction $$\langle$$p²$$\rangle$$ = [8.9 ± 1.1] × 10^-4 at 95 GHz and [6.9 ± 1.1] × 10^-4 at 150 GHz for the full sample. This is consistent with the values obtained for a subsample of active galactic nuclei. For dusty sources, we find 95 percent upper limits of $$\langle$$p²$$\rangle$$₉₅ < 16.9 × 10^-3 and $$\langle$$p²$$\rangle$$₁₅₀ < 2.6 × 10^-3. We find no evidence that the polarization fraction depends on the source flux or observing frequency. The 1σ upper limit on measured mean-squared polarization fraction at 150 GHz implies that extragalactic foregrounds will be subdominant to the CMB E and B mode polarization power spectra out to at least ℓ ≲ 5700 (ℓ ≲ 4700) and ℓ ≲ 5300 (ℓ ≲ 3600), respectively, at 95 (150) GHz.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); National Science Foundation (NSF); Kavli Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Australian Research Council (ARC)
• Contributing Organization: SPT
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-76SF00515; PHY-1125897; GBMF 947; AC02-05CH11231; PLR-1248097; AC02-07CH11359
• OSTI ID: 1607541
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1556975; OSTI ID: 1634014; OSTI ID: 1737589
• Report Number(s): arXiv:1907.02156; FERMILAB-PUB-19-386-AE
• Journal Information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 490 Journal Issue: 4; ISSN 0035-8711
• Publisher: Royal Astronomical Society
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
polarization
galaxies: active
cosmology: observations