Assessing consistency between CMB temperature and polarization measurements, with application to Planck, ACT and SPT

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the consistency between temperature and polarization measurements of the CMB from Planck, ACT, and SPT, confirming their agreement with the ΛCDM model and establishing methods for future data validation.

Contribution

It introduces methods to identify and quantify inconsistencies between CMB temperature and polarization data, applied to current datasets with no deviations found.

Findings

No evidence of deviation from ΛCDM

Methods effectively assess data consistency

Supports combined use of Planck, ACT, SPT data

Abstract

Planck's Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarization observations are the premier dataset for constraining cosmological models. Cosmic variance limited temperature at large and intermediate scales today dominates the constraints; polarization provides additional constraining power and further scrutiny of the models. To complete this picture from Planck, ground-based experiments, such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) continue to add temperature and polarization measurements at small scales, allowing for the extraction of competitive cosmological constraints from the $TE$ and $EE$ power spectra. Matching at the same time all these stringent probes is a key challenge and validation step for any cosmological model. In particular, $\Lambda$CDM requires a tight consistency between the temperature and polarization measurements. In this paper, we present a number of methods to identify and quantify possible inconsistencies between temperature and polarization, we apply them to the latest Planck, ACT and SPT data and find no evidence for a deviation from $\Lambda$CDM. Application of these methods will have increased importance for future, more constraining CMB data.