We describe the Millimeter wave Anisotropy eXperiment IMaging Array (maxima), a balloon-borne experiment designed to measure the temperature anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) on angular scales of 10 to 5. maxima mapped the CMB using 16 bolometric detectors in spectral bands centered at 150 GHz, 240 GHz, and 410 GHz, with 10 resolution at all frequencies. The combined receiver ...

Recent studies have found the earth’s peculiar velocity to be significant in microwave-background–based tests for compact cosmic topology, and modifications to these tests have been proposed. Tests of non-Gaussianity, weaklensing analysis, and new tests using improved cosmic microwave background (CMB) data will also be sensitive to peculiar velocity. We propose here to simplify matters by showi...

The COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, and the Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) experiment in particular, was extraordinarily successful. However, the DMR results were announced about 7 years ago, during which time a great deal more has been learned about anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We assess the current state of knowledge, and discuss where we might ...

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 a universe reionized in patches, the Doppler effect from Thomson scattering off free electrons generates secondary cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. For a simple model with small patches and late reionization, we analytically calculate the anisotropy power spectrum. Patchy reionization can, in principle, be the main source of anisotropies on arcminute scales. On larger angular ...

To minimize instrumentally induced systematic errors, cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy experiments measure temperature differences across the sky using paires of horn antennas, temperature map is recovered from temperature differences obtained in sky survey through a map-making procedure. To inspect and calibrate residual systematic errors in recovered temperature maps is important ...

Previously, by re-analyzing the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) raw data, we have seen significantly different cosmic microwave background (CMB) results to the WMAP official release, especially at the largest-scale structure detectable for the CMB anisotropy the l = 2 component, which is also called the CMB quadrupole. In this article, we first introduce the discovered differences, ...

Sky temperature map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is one of the premier probes of cosmology. To minimize instrumentally induced systematic errors, CMB anisotropy experiments measure temperature differences across the sky using paires of horn antennas with a fixed separation angle, temperature maps are recovered from temperature differences obtained in sky survey through a map-making ...

We propose a new method for removing gravitational lensing from maps of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization anisotropies. Using observations of anisotropies or structures in the cosmic 21 cm radiation, emitted or absorbed by neutral hydrogen atoms at redshifts 10 to 200, the CMB can be delensed. We find this method could allow CMB experiments to have increased sensitivity to a backgr...

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...