We simulate Planck observations by adopting a detailed model of the microwave sky including monopole, dipole, anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and galactic and extragalactic foregrounds. We estimate the impact of main beam optical aberrations on CMB anisotropy measurements in presence of extragalactic source fluctuations and we discuss the main implications for the Planck t...

In this paper, we study the usages of data mining in banking industry and its related impacts. Great changes in banking services emerged from the application of data mining especially in retailing banking. We present China Merchant Bank (CMB) as an example to do case analysis, in which we explore data environment evaluation analysis model, operational efficiency model and profitability model to...

The Fisher information matrix of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation power spectrum coefficients is a fundamental quantity that specifies the information content of a CMB experiment. In the most general case, its exact calculation scales with the third power of the number of data points N and is therefore computationally prohibitive for state-of-the-art surveys. Applicable to a very...

In this article we review the theory of cosmological inflation with a particular focus on the beautiful connection it provides between the physics of the very small and observations of the very large. We explain how quantum mechanical fluctuations during the inflationary era become macroscopic density fluctuations which leave distinct imprints in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We descri...

The big news at the recent Cosmo ’02 workshop in Chicago [1] was the announcement of the first detection of polarization in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the 2.726 K radiation left over from the big bang [2]. In 1968, Rees predicted that the CMB must be polarized if it is a relic from the early universe[3]. Ever since, astronomers have sought observational evidence. The race for detect...

Although individual observational groups vigorously test their data sets for systematic errors, the pre-WMAP CMB observational data set has not yet been collectively tested. Under the assumption that the concordance model is the correct model, we have explored residuals of the observational data with respect to this model to see if any patterns emerge that can be identified with systematic erro...

We estimate the dust polarized emission in our galaxy at high galactic latitudes, which is the dominant foreground for measuring CMB polarization using the high frequency instrument (HFI) aboard Planck surveyor. We compare it with the level of CMB polarization and conclude that, for angular scales ≤ 1 • , the scalar-induced CMB polarization and temperature-polarization cross-correlation are muc...

We review the current status of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, including a brief discussion of some basic theoretical aspects as well as a summary of anisotropy detections and CMB experiments. We focus on the description of some relevant characteristics of the microwave foregrounds, on the discussion of the different estimators proposed in the literature to detect non-Gaussian...

With polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) now detected, and confirmed by several independent experiments, the next goal is to characterise accurately its statistical properties. In these lecture notes we review the physical motivation for pursuing CMB polarization, and the basic statistical properties of the polarization fields. We then discuss some of the key aspects of the an...

Geometric characteristics of random fields are exploited to test the consistency of density perturbation model spectra with COBE data. These CMB maps are analyzed using the number of anisotropy hot spots and their boundary curvature. CMB maps which account for instrumental effects and sky coverage are Monte Carlo generated. These simulations show that a scale invariant HarrisonZeldovich primord...