One of the primary targets of current and especially future cosmological observations are light thermal relics of the hot big bang. Within the Standard Model of particle physics, an important thermal relic are cosmic neutrinos, while many interesting extensions of the Standard Model predict new light particles which are even more weakly coupled to ordinary matter and therefore hard to detect in terrestrial experiments. On the other hand, these elusive particles may be produced efficiently in the early universe and their gravitational influence could be detectable in cosmological observables. In this thesis, we describe how measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the large-scale structure (LSS) of the universe can shed new light on the properties of neutrinos and on the possible existence of other light relics. These cosmological observations are remarkably sensitive to the amount of radiation in the early universe, partly because free-streaming species such as neutrinos imprint a small phase shift in the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) which we study in detail in the CMB and LSS power spectra. Building on this analytic understanding, we provide further evidence for the cosmic neutrino background by independently confirming its free-streaming nature in different, currently available datasets. In particular, we propose and establish a new analysis of the BAO spectrum beyond its use as a standard ruler, resulting in the first measurement of this imprint of neutrinos in the clustering of galaxies. Future cosmological surveys, such as the next generation of CMB experiments (CMB-S4), have the potential to measure the energy density of relativistic species at the sub-percent level and will therefore be capable of probing physics beyond the Standard Model. We demonstrate how this improvement in sensitivity can indeed be achieved and present an observational target which would allow the detection of any extra light particle that has ever been in thermal equilibrium. Interestingly, even the absence of a detection would result in new insights by providing constraints on the couplings to the Standard Model. As an example, we show that existing bounds on additional scalar particles, such as axions, may be surpassed by orders of magnitude.

Le rayonnement du Fond Diffus Cosmologique est une source riche et propre d’informations cosmologiques. L’étude du CMB au cours des dernières décennies a conduit à la mise en place d’un modèle standard pour la cosmologie et a permis de mesurer précisément ses principaux paramètres. Il a également transformé le domaine, en le basant davantage sur les données observationnelles et les approches numériques et statistiques.A l’heure actuelle, l’inflation est le principal paradigme décrivant les premiers moments de notre Univers. Elle prédit la génération de fluctuations de la densité de matière primordiale et des ondes gravitationnelles. Le signal de polarisation du CMB porte la signature de ces ondes gravitationnelles sous la forme de modes-B primordiaux. Une future génération de missions spatiale d’observation de la polarisation du CMB est bien adaptée à l’observation de cette signature de l’inflation.Cette thèse se concentre sur l’optimisation d’une future mission spatiale CMB qui observera le signal en modes-B pour atteindre une sensibilité de r = 0,001. Plus précisément, j’étudie la stratégie d’observation et l’impact des effets systématiques sur la qualité de la mesure de polarisation / The Cosmic Microwave Background radiation is a rich and clean source of Cosmological information. Study of the CMB over the past few decades has led to the establishment of a “Standard Model” for Cosmology and constrained many of its principal parameters. It hasalso transformed the field into a highly data-driven domain.Currently, Inflation is the leading paradigm describing the earliest moments of our Universe. It predicts the generation of primordial matter density fluctuations and gravitational waves. The CMB polarisation carries the signature of these gravitational waves in the form of primordial “B-modes”. A future generation of CMB polarisation space mission is well suited to observe this signature of Inflation.This thesis focuses on optimising a future CMB space mission that will observe the B-modesignal for reaching a sensitivity of r = 0.001. Specifically, I study the optimisation of the scanning strategy and the impact of systematics on the quality of polarisation measurement

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux combinaisons d’observables cosmologiques provenant des mesures du fond diffus cosmologique et des relevés de galaxies, et est basée sur l’exploitation des données du satellite Planck et du Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) du Sloan Digital Sky Survey. On explore l’utilisation de corrélations croisées entre les jeux de données afin de mettre en évidence de nouveaux effets et d’améliorer les contraintes statistiques sur les paramètres cosmologiques. Dans un premier temps, on mesure pour la première fois une corrélation entre le lentillage gravitationnel du fond diffus cosmologique et le spectre de puissance des fluctuations de la forêt Lyman-α des quasars. Cet effet, d’origine purement non-linéaire, est interprété comme la réponse du spectre de puissance à des grandes échelles. Il montre comment les fluctuations dans la densité en hydrogène neutre dans le milieu intergalactique sont influencées par des fluctuations à grande échelle dans la densité de matière noire. Le signal mesuré est compatible avec l’approche théorique et des simulations menées par d’autres groupes. Dans un deuxième temps, on développe un formalisme permettant une analyse conjointe de la densité de galaxies et de quasars de BOSS avec le lentillage gravitationnel du fond diffus cosmologique. La prise en compte des corrélations croisées entre ces sondes permet de diminuer les barres d’erreurs de certains paramètres cosmologiques de 20%, ce qui équivaut à augmenter la surface couverte par les relevés de presque 50%. Cette analyse est complétée par la mesure des anisotropies de température du fond diffus cosmologique afin de contraindre tous les paramètres du modèle standard ΛCDM, ainsi que les biais des galaxies. Puis on étend le modèle afin d’explorer les contraintes sur l’équation d’état de l’énergie noire et la somme des masses des neutrinos / This thesis addresses the combinations of cosmological probes from the measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and galaxy redshift surveys, and exploits data from the Planck satellite and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It explores how cross-correlations between different data sets can be used to detect new signals and improve contraints on cosmological parameters. First, we measure, for the first time, the cross-correlation between gravitational lensing of the CMB and the power spectrum of the Lyman-α forest in the spectra of quasars. This effect, which emerges from purely non-linear evolution, is interpreted as the response of the power spectrum to large-scale modes. It shows how fluctuations in the density of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium are affected by large-scale fluctuations in the density of dark matter. The measured signal is compatible with the theoretical approach and simulations run by another group. In a second time, we develop a formalism enabling the joint analysis of the galaxy/quasar density contrast and CMB lensing. Taking cross-correlations between these probes into account reduces error bars on some cosmological parameters by up to 20%, equivalent to an increase in the size of the survey of about 50%. This analysis is completed by CMB temperature anisotropies information in order to constrain all the parameters of the ΛCDM standard model and galaxy biases at once. Finally, it is extended to obtain contraints on the dark energy equation of state as well as the sum of the masses of neutrinos

This work presents several works related to the impact of neutrinos in cosmology. We study the impact on the Cosmic Microwave Background of several neutrino-related parameters (mass, abundance, neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry, non-thermal distorsions, non-standard couplings with other species, mass and abundance of additional sterile neutrinos). We present new numerical methods for computing these effects efficiently. We use current data to derive several new bounds on these parameters, and finally, we study the sensitivity of future cosmological experiments to these quantities.

Receiver systems utilising planar technologies are prevalent in telescopes observing at radio to sub-millimetre wavelengths. Receiver components using planar technologies are generally smaller, have reduced mass and are cheaper to manufacture than waveguide-based alternatives. Given that modern-day detectors are capable of reaching the fundamental photon noise limit, increases in the sensitivity of telescopes are frequently attained by increasing the total number of detectors in the receivers. The development of components utilising planar technologies facilitates the demand for large numbers of detectors, whilst minimising the size, mass and manufacturing cost of the receiver. After a review and study of existing concepts in radio to sub-mm telescopes and their receivers, this thesis develops planar components that couple the radiation from the telescope's optics onto the focal plane. Two components are developed; a W- band (75-110 GHz) planar antenna-coupled flat mesh lens designed for the receiver of a Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) B-mode experiment, and an L-band (1- 2 GHz) horn-coupled planar orthomode transducer designed for the receiver of the FAST telescope. The first developments of a planar antenna-coupled flat mesh lens are presented. The design is driven by the requirement to mitigate beam systematics to prevent pollution of the CMB B-mode signal. In the first instance, a waveguide-coupled mesh lens is characterised. The radiation patterns of the waveguide-coupled mesh lens have -3 dB beam widths between 26 and 19 degrees, beam ellipticity <10%, and cross-polarisation.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / We investigate the modelling of radio galaxies within a semi-analytic framework in the Millennium Simulation of the Virgo Consortium. The aim is to assess the radio sources contamination of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) signatures of clusters of galaxies in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments. The modelling is also relevant to the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) science. The semi-analytical model consists of N-body simulation, the Millennium Run to trace the merger history of dark matter haloes within the Λ Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) cosmology and a follow up of the black hole accretion history and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) evolution. We study the growth of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in galaxy centres and determine the black hole mass accretion conversion into radiation. We identify a model which matches observed radio luminosity function. We describe a model of observed sample of radio surveys at a given frequency and a flux density limit to obtain a model of radio luminosity function (space density of radio sources as a function of redshift) that we compare with our simulated data. We determine the redshift distribution of radio galaxies (FRI), blazars and radio quasars (FRII) in the simulation. We focus the modelling on flat spectrum population of blazars since their jets are collimated towards us and thus constitute the most potential contaminants of the CMB. We determine the spatial and density distribution of radio sources in clusters with a virial mass Mvir 2 1014h−1M and then compute the temperature fluctuations and fluxes produced by these cluster radio sources. Our main results include: the model provides a reasonable match within uncertainties with the model obtained by Dunlop & Peacock (1990) [39] using their best fit of radio luminosity function at redshift z . 0:3. The model underestimates the number of radio sources at high redshift z & 1. Radio sources are concentrated around the centre of clusters with a maximum density at r . 0:1r200 where r200 is the radius within which the density is 200 times the critical density. Radio sources are more concentrated in low mass clusters. The model predicts a surface density profile of radio sources with luminosity P 1023 W.Hz−1 at 1.4 GHz (z . 0:06) in agreement with that of Lin & Mohr (2007) [58] at r . 0:1r200 but underestimates the density in the outskirts of the clusters. BL Lacs and FRI radio galaxies produce non negligible contamination at redshift z . 0:1. They produce a mean temperature fluctuation 4:5 K at redshift z 0:01 which can be at the same level as the kinetic SZE signal produced by the cluster. Blazars constitute potential contaminant of the thermal SZ effect at redshift z 1:0 and z 1:5 at 145 GHz where they produce a mean temperature 300 K - 350 K for an average mass of the cluster. / South Africa

No description available.

Depuis sa découverte en 1964, l’étude du Fond Diffus Cosmologique dans le domaine des longueurs d’ondes millimétriques est devenue un enjeu majeur de la recherche expérimentale dans le domaine de la cosmologie. En particulier, ses anisotropies en température, mesurées pour la première fois par le satellite COBE puis plus finement par l’expérience WMAP et le satellite PLANCK. L’existence prédite d’anisotropies de polarisation du Fond Diffus Cosmologique est fait actuellement parti du champ d’expérimentation privilégié de l’étude du CMB. En effet, la preuve d’existence des modes B de polarisation, signature unique des ondes gravitationnelles primordiales, fait actuellement l’objet d’une recherche expérimentale intensive par le biais notamment de l’instrument BICEP2 qui aurait détecté sa signature en 2014 dans des valeurs du rapport tenseur sur scalaire r = 0,2. Le projet QUBIC fait parti de ces expériences destinées à révéler les modes B de polarisation grâce à son instrument basé sur la technique des interféromètres et sur le développement de matrice de bolomètres, demandant un champ d’investigation poussé englobant, entre autre, la physique des solides, la physique des basses températures et la cosmologie. La thèse présentée ici se situe dans ce cadre, avec pour objectif l’élaboration d’une matrice de bolomètres dont la performance et l’optimisation devrait permettre d’acquérir la sensibilité nécessaire à l’observation des modes B de polarisation. Les différentes techniques expérimentales acquises au CSNSM d’Orsay permettent en effet d’envisager l’optimisation des éléments clé de la matrice de bolomètre en s’appuyant notamment sur l’alliage amorphe de NbxSi1-x pour l’élaboration d’un senseur thermique optimisé, et sur un matériau novateur, l’alliage de titane-vanadium, pour la mise au point d’un absorbeur de rayonnement supraconducteur efficace, dont la faible chaleur spécifique doit permettre d’atteindre un temps de réponse du détecteur de l’ordre de la dizaine de milliseconde, valeur du temps de réponse nécessaire à une lecture efficace du signal du Fond Diffus Cosmologique. Le manuscrit de thèse ici présent a pour ambition de développer les principes physiques nécessaires au champ d’investigation du travail à accomplir. Ainsi, cette étude propose d’élaborer les différents éléments d’un bolomètre, réunissant un senseur thermique optimisé ainsi qu’un absorbeur de rayonnement de faible chaleur spécifique, permettant d’envisager la mise au point d’une matrice de bolomètres optimisée dans le cadre du projet QUBIC dont la campagne d’observation est prévue courant 2015 au dôme C du pôle Sud. / Since its discovery in 1964, the study of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in the field as of millimetre-length wavelengths became a major stake of experimental research in the field of cosmology. In particular, its anisotropies in temperature, measured for the first time by satellite COBE then more finely by the experiment WMAP and the PLANCK satellite. The predicted existence of anisotropies of polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background is currently been part of the privileged field of experimentation of the study of the CMB. Indeed, the proof of exists modes B of polarization, single signature of the paramount gravitational waves, currently is the object of an intensive experimental research by the means in particular of the instrument BICEP2 which would have detected its signature in 2014 in values of the tensor report on scalar R = 0.2. Project QUBIC makes party of these experiments intended to reveal the modes B of polarization thanks to its instrument based on the technique of the interferometers and the development of bolometers array, asking for a thorough field of investigation including, amongst other things, the solid state physics, the physics of the low temperatures and cosmology. The thesis presented here is within this framework, with for objective making of a bolometers array whose performance and optimization should make it possible to acquire the necessary sensitivity to the observation of the B-mode polarization. The various experimental techniques acquired with the CSNSM of Orsay indeed make it possible to consider the optimization of the key elements of the bolometers array while being pressed in particular on amorphous alloy of NbxSi1-x for making of an optimized thermal sensor, and on an innovative material, titanium-vanadium alloy, for the clarification of an effective superconducting absorber of radiation, whose low specific heat must make it possible to reach a response time of the detector about ten millisecond, value of the response time necessary to an effective reading of the signal of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The manuscript of thesis here present has as an ambition to develop the physical principles necessary to the field of investigation of work to be achieved. Thus, this study proposes to work out the various elements of a bolometer, joining together a thermal sensor optimized as well as an absorber of radiation of low specific heat, making it possible to consider the clarification of a bolometers array optimized within the framework of the project QUBIC whose observation campaign is envisaged during 2015 with the dome C of the south pole.

On s'intéressera, dans ce mémoire, à certains aspects phénoménologiques de l'évolution des grandes structures de l'univers, dans le cadre des modèles inflationnaires. La relativité générale prédit que le trajet des rayons lumineux est perturbé par les puits de potentiels gravitationnels ; on appelle ce phénomène, effet de lentille gravitationnelle. On donnera une description très précise de cet effet sur la lumière du rayonnement de fond micro-onde, les anisotropies de sa température et sa polarisation. Pour ce faire, après avoir exposé les grandes lignes du modèle, on rappellera comment se calculent les anisotropies de température et la polarisation ainsi que les propriétés de l'évolution des grandes structures. Le calcul de l'effet de lentille gravitationnelle sera aussi rappelé en détail. On sera ainsi en mesure d'étudier l'effet de lentille gravitationnelle sur le rayonnement de fond dans deux régimes : celui fort, dans le cas d'un effet induit par une corde cosmique, et celui faible où les sources sont les grandes structures de l'univers. On montrera, dans ce dernier cas, que température et polarisation du rayonnement de fond portent des informations sur l'histoire des grandes structures entre aujourd'hui et son époque d'émission. On exposera et l'on caractérisera une technique particulièrement prometteuse visant à extraire cette information, et qui consiste à comparer rayonnement de fond et relevés de forme des champs galactiques d'arrière plan. On étudiera aussi les enseignement que peuvent apporter ce genre d'observables sur le modèle cosmologique. Enfin, on s'attardera sur une classe de modèles exotiques dans laquelle la constante cosmique est remplacée par une composante nouvelle, la quintessence. On étudiera l'évolution des grandes structures dans ces modèles et on en tirera les conséquences phénoménologiques sur l'effet de lentille gravitationnelle.

This PhD thesis, written in english, studies the non-Gaussianity (NG) of extragalactic foregrounds to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the latter being one of the golden observables of today's cosmology. In the last decade has emerged research for deviations of the CMB to the Gaussian law, as they would discriminate the models for the generation of primordial perturbations. However the CMB measurements, e.g. by the Planck satellite, are contaminated by several foregrounds. I studied in particular the extragalactic foregrounds which trace the large scale structure of the universe : radio and infrared point-sources and the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (tSZ). I hence describe the statistical tools to characterise a random field : the correlation functions, and their harmonic counterpart : the polyspectra. In particular the bispectrum is the lowest order indicator of NG, with the highest potential signal to noise ratio (SNR). I describe how it can be estimated on data, accounting for a potential mask (e.g. galactic), and propose a method to visualise the bispectrum, which is more adapted than the already existing ones. I then describe the covariance of a polyspectrum measurement, a method to generate non-Gaussian simulations, and how the statistic of a 3D field projects onto the sphere when integrating along the line-of-sight. I then describe the generation of density perturbations by the standard inflation model and their possible NG, how they yield the CMB anisotropies and grow to form the large scale structure of today's universe. To describe this large scale structure, I present the halo model and propose a diagrammatic method to compute the polyspectra of the galaxy density field and to have a simple and powerful representation of the involved terms. I then describe the foregrounds to the CMB, galactic as well as extragalactic. I briefly describe the physics of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and how to describe its spatial distribution with the halo model. I then describe the extragalactic point-sources and present a prescription for the NG of clustered sources. For the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) I introduce a physical modeling with the halo model and the diagrammatic method. I compute numerically the 3D galaxy bispectrum and produce the first theoretical prediction of the CIB angular bispectrum. I show the contributions of the different terms and the temporal evolution of the galaxy bispectrum. For the CIB angular bispectrum, I show its different terms, its scale and configuration dependence, and how it varies with model parameters. By Fisher analysis, I show it allows very good constraints on these parameters, complementary to or better than those coming from the power spectrum. Finally, I describe my work on measuring NG. I first introduce an estimator for the amplitude of the CIB bispectrum, and show how to combine it with similar ones for radio sources and the CMB, for a joint constraint of the different sources of NG. I quantify the contamination of extragalactic point-sources to the estimation of primordial NG ; for Planck it is negligible for the central CMB frequencies. I then describe my measurement of the CIB bispectrum on Planck data ; it is very significantly detected at 217, 353 and 545 GHz with SNR ranging from 5.8 to 28.7. Its shape is consistent between frequencies, as well as the intrinsic amplitude of NG. Ultimately, I describe my measurement of the tSZ bispectrum, on simulations and on Compton parameter maps estimated by Planck, validating the robustness of the estimation thanks to realist foreground simulations. The tSZ bispectrum is very significantly detected with SNR~200. Its amplitude and its scale and configuration dependence are consistent with the projected map of detected clusters and tSZ simulations. Finally, this measurement allows to put a constraint on the cosmological parameters : sigma_8*(Omega_b/0.049)^0.35 = 0.74+/-0.04 in agreement with other tSZ statistics.