Galactic foreground constraints from the Python V Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy data

Abstract

We constrain Galactic foreground contamination of the Python V cosmic microwave background anisotropy data by cross-correlating it with foreground contaminant emission templates. To model foreground emission, we use 100 and 12 μm dust templates and two point-source templates based on the Parkes-MIT-NRAO survey. The analysis takes account of intermodulation correlations in eight modulations of the data that are sensitive to a large range of angular scales and also densely sample a large area of sky. As a consequence, the analysis here is highly constraining. We find little evidence for foreground contamination in an analysis of the whole data set. However, there is indication that foregrounds are present in the data from the larger angular scale modulations of those Python V fields that overlap the region scanned earlier by the University of California at Santa Barbara South Pole 1994 experiment. This is an independent consistency cross-check of findings from the South Pole 1994 data.