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Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto

Bayesian joint estimation of non-Gaussianity and the power spectrum

G. Rocha, J. Magueijo, M. Hobson, A. Lasenby

Abstract
We propose a rigorous, non-perturbative, Bayesian framework which enables one jointly to test Gaussianity and estimate the power spectrum of CMB anisotropies. It makes use of the Hilbert space of an harmonic oscillator to set up an exact likelihood function, dependent on the power spectrum and on a set of parameters αi, which are zero for Gaussian processes. The latter can be expressed as a series of cumulants; indeed they perturbatively reduce to cumulants. However they have the advantage that their variation is essentially unconstrained. Any truncation (i.e., finite set of αi) therefore still produces a proper distribution-something which cannot be said of the only other such tool available, the Edgeworth expansion. We apply our method to Very Small Array (VSA) simulations based on signal Gaussianity, showing that our algorithm is indeed not biased.

Physical Review D
Volume 64, Page 15
September 2001

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Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA) is a new but long anticipated research infrastructure with a national dimension. It embodies a bold but feasible vision for the development of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal, taking full advantage and fully realizing the potential created by the national membership of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). IA resulted from the merging the two most prominent research units in the field in Portugal: the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP) and the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Lisbon (CAAUL). It currently hosts more than two-thirds of all active researchers working in Space Sciences in Portugal, and is responsible for an even greater fraction of the national productivity in international ISI journals in the area of Space Sciences. This is the scientific area with the highest relative impact factor (1.65 times above the international average) and the field with the highest average number of citations per article for Portugal.

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