Full-sky beam convolution for cosmic microwave background applications

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive Python library for full-sky beam convolution in CMB experiments, enabling detailed systematic effect analysis and aiding instrument design through realistic simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a new publicly available code for full-sky beam convolution that models optical systematics in CMB experiments with realistic simulations.

Findings

Extended sidelobes cause significant B-mode residuals.

Full physical optics models differ from elliptical Gaussian models.

Simulation identifies sub-leading optical non-idealities.

Abstract

We introduce a publicly available full-sky beam convolution code library intended to inform the design of future cosmic microwave background (CMB) instruments and help current experiments probe potential systematic effects. The code can be used to assess the impact of optical systematics on all stages of data reduction for a realistic experiment, including analyses beyond power spectrum estimation, by generating signal timelines that may serve as input to full analysis pipelines. The design and mathematical framework of the Python code is discussed along with a few simple benchmarking results. We present a simple two-lens refracting telescope design and use it together with the code to simulate a year-long dataset for 400 detectors scanning the sky on a satellite instrument. The simulation results identify a number of sub-leading optical non-idealities and demonstrate significant B-mode residuals caused by extended sidelobes that are sensitive to polarized radiation from the Galaxy. For the proposed design and satellite scanning strategy, we show that a full physical optics beam model generates B-mode systematics that differ significantly from the simpler elliptical Gaussian model. The code is available at https://github.com/adrijd/beamconv