This thesis investigates weak lensing (WL) of galaxies and the cosmic microwave back- ground (CMB) in the nonlinear regime. WL describes the effect of bending of background light rays by foreground matter (“lens”). It is sensitive to the large scale structure of the universe, and hence is a promising method to answer some unsolved fundamental questions in physics, such as the nature of dark energy and the total mass of neutrinos. WL datasets of unprecedented precision will come on-line in the early 2020s. This presents an exciting yet challenging task for the WL community: how do we extract the maximum amount of information from lensing observables, while minimizing the impact of systematics? This work attempts to answer this question by studying non-Gaussian statistics. Traditionally, WL data are analyzed using second-order statistics, which capture all the cosmological information if the density field is Gaussian. However, the small-scale density fluctuations are strongly non-Gaussian and can be highly sensitive to cosmology. Thus we need higher order (non-Gaussian) statistics to utilize these features in the nonlinear regime. In this thesis, we study the constraining power on cosmology and relevant systematics of non-Gaussian statistics, with a focus on convergence peaks. We present the first cosmological constraints using peak counts of the CFHTLenS survey. We also quantify the impact of magnification and size bias, one type of lensing systematics, on the lensing power spectrum and peaks. Finally, going beyond galaxy lensing, we cross-correlate Planck CMB lensing maps with CFHTLenS galaxy lensing maps, to investigate various WL systematics.

The E and B EXperiment (EBEX) is a pointed balloon-borne telescope designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as well as that from Galactic dust. The instrument is equipped with a 1.5 meter aperture Gregorian-Dragone telescope, providing an 8' beam at three frequency bands centered on 150, 250 and 410 GHz. The telescope is designed to measure or place an upper limit on inflationary B-mode signals and to probe B-modes originating from gravitationnal lensing of the CMB. The higher EBEX frequencies are designed to enable the measurement and removal of polarized Galactic dust foregrounds which currently limit the measurement of inflationary B-modes. Polarimetry is achieved by rotating an achromatic half-wave plate (HWP) on a superconducting magnetic bearing. In January 2013, EBEX completed 11 days of observations in a flight over Antarctica covering 6,000 square degrees of the southern sky. This marks the first time that kilo-pixel TES bolometer arrays have made science observations on a balloon-borne platform. In this thesis we report on the construction, deployment and data analysis of EBEX. We review the development of the pointing sensors and software used for real-time attitude determination and control, including pre-flight testing and calibration. We then report on the 2013 long duration flight (LD2013) and review all the major stages of the analysis pipeline used to transform the ~1 TB of raw data into polarized sky maps. We review "LEAP", the software framework developed to support the analysis pipeline. We discuss in detail the novel program developed to reconstruct the attitude post-flight and estimate the effect of attitude errors on measured B-mode signals. We describe the bolometer time-stream cleaning procedure including removing the HWP-synchronous signal, and we detail the map making procedure. Finally we present a novel method to measure and subtract instrumental polarization, after which we show Galaxy and CMB maps.

Kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) are superconducting thin-film microresonators that are sensitive photon detectors. These detectors are a candidate for the next generation of experiments designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). I discuss the basic theory needed to understand the response of a KID to light, focusing on the dynamics of the quasiparticle system. I derive an equation that describes the dynamics of the quasiparticle number, solve it in a simplified form not previously published, and show that it can describe the dynamic response of a detector. Magnetic flux vortices in a superconducting thin film can be a significant source of dissipation, and I demonstrate some techniques to prevent their formation. Based on the presented theory, I derive a corrected version of a widely-used equation for the quasiparticle recombination noise in a KID. I show that a KID consisting of a lumped-element resonator can be sensitive enough to be limited by photon noise, which is the fundamental limit for photometry, at a level of optical loading below levels in ground-based CMB experiments. Finally, I describe an ongoing project to develop multichroic KID pixels that are each sensitive to two linear polarization states in two spectral bands, intended for the next generation of CMB experiments. I show that a prototype 23-pixel array can detect millimeter-wave light, and present characterization measurements of the detectors.

This thesis presents the development of kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) for cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarimetry. Increasingly precise measurements of the CMB have led to much of our understanding of the observable universe; future measurements of the CMB will require the development of new detectors as progressively fainter signals are targeted. In particular, a measurement of the primordial B-mode polarization signal, which would offer strong evidence of inflation, will require at least a 50 times increase in detector count. KIDs are an attractive detector option for next-generation CMB experiments due to their low-noise and high-multiplexing factor. In this thesis, I present KIDs optimized for ground-based CMB observations, which are sensitive to a 150 GHz spectral band where the CMB spectrum peaks. This research demonstrates the first systematic studies of lumped-element KIDs (LEKIDs) optimized for CMB surveys and shows the readiness of the detectors for on-sky observations. First, I present the design and performance of horn-coupled LEKIDs, which are sensitive to a single polarization. I show that KIDs can meet the stringent noise and sensitivity requirements necessary for a competitive CMB detector. Second, I present a novel method for reducing crosstalk between LEKIDs, which is important for controlling instrument systematics. Third, I present the design and performance of dual-polarization LEKIDs, which are sensitive to orthogonal polarizations within a single spectral band and double the number of detectors per array, increasing the sensitivity. Finally, I present the initial analysis of millimeter-wave observations of a nearby galaxy cluster, Abell 2443, taken with the LEKID-based NIKA2 instrument on the IRAM 30 m telescope. This is part of ongoing research to make high-resolution measurements of the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect, seen as a distortion in the CMB spectrum.

Cosmic microwave background observations have been fundamental in forming the standard model of cosmology. Ongoing and upcoming cosmic microwave background experiments aim to confirm this model and push the boundaries of our knowledge to the very first moments of the Universe. Non-cosmological microwave radiation from the Galaxy and beyond, called foregrounds, obscures and contaminates these measurements. Understanding the sources and effects of foregrounds and removing their imprint in cosmic microwave background observations is a major obstacle to making cosmological inferences. This thesis contains my work studying these foregrounds. First, I will present observations of a well-known but poorly understood foreground called anomalous microwave emission. Second, I will present results forecasting the capability of a next-generation satellite experiment to detect cosmic microwave background spectral distortions in the presence of foregrounds. Third, I will present results studying the effect of foregrounds on the cosmic microwave background self-calibration method, which allows experiments to calibrate the telescope polarization angle using the cosmic microwave background itself. Fourth, I will present my analysis characterizing the performance of and producing maps for the E and B Experiment. Fifth, I will present my research contributions to the readout system that used in the laboratory to operate kinetic inductance detectors, which are being developed for cosmic microwave background observations. Lastly, I will conclude with future prospects in the field of foregrounds and cosmic microwave background cosmology.

Gravitational lensing of photons in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) can be described by an integrated potential along the line of sight, the CMB lensing potential. Covariances in maps of the CMB are generated by the lensing effect, and are used to reconstruct the lensing potential itself, which is a useful probe of the matter distribution. The CMB lensing potential has been measured to high significance with CMB temperature data. However, signal to noise for lensing reconstruction from CMB polarization data is expected to be much better due to the presence of the lensing B-mode. Upcoming data from ground based CMB polarization instruments will provide high resolution maps over small patches of the sky. This will provide much better lensing reconstruction, but also presents data analysis challenges. This thesis begins with an introduction to the field of CMB lensing and CMB lensing reconstruction. The second chapter details the biases present in reconstructing the lensing potential from CMB polarization maps considering first the full sky, and then small patches of sky. It also shows that using the pure-B mode formalism for the CMB polarization leads to improved lensing reconstruction over the naive case on the cut sky. Given the upcoming improvement in the CMB lensing reconstruction, it is expected that cross-correlations of the CMB lensing with other structure tracers, such as galaxies, will yield improved information for cosmology. It is also expected that the CMB lensing will become useful to help constrain uncertainties in the galaxy power spectrum, and provide information on the linear galaxy bias and redshift distribution. The third chapter of the thesis forecasts the power of cross correlation science for a number of galactic and non-galactic parameters. Finally, the CMB lensing effects the level of non-Gaussianity observed in the CMB. The fourth chapter of the thesis is a study of the lensing effect on the primordial squeezed bispectrum. We conclude in the fifth chapter.

Asymmetric beams can create significant bias in estimates of the power spectra from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. With the temperature power spectrum many orders of magnitude stronger than the B-mode power spectrum any systematic error that couples the two must be carefully controlled and/or removed. In this thesis, I derive unbiased estimators for the CMB temperature and polarisation power spectra taking into account general beams and scan strategies. I test my correction algorithm on simulations of two temperature-only experiments and demonstrate that it is unbiased. I also develop a map-making algorithm that removes beam asymmetry bias at the map level. I demonstrate its implementation using simulations. I present two new map-making algorithms that create polarisation maps clean of temperature-to-polarisation leakage systematics due to differential gain and pointing between a detector pair. Where a half wave plate is used, I show that the spin-2 systematic due to differential ellipticity can also be removed using my algorithms. The first algorithm is designed to work with scan strategies that have a good range of crossing angles for each map pixel and the second for scan strategies that have a limited range of crossing angles. I demonstrate both algorithms by using simulations of time ordered data with realistic scan strategies and instrumental noise. I investigate the role that a scan strategy can have in mitigating certain common systematics by averaging systematic errors down with many crossing angles. I present approximate analytic forms for the error on the recovered B-mode power spectrum that would result from these systematic errors. I use these analytic predictions to search the parameter space of common satellite scan strategies to identify the features of a scan strategy that have most impact in mitigating systematic effects.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-08-12T15:33:42Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Kelen Cristiane Noleto da Costa.pdf: 3124445 bytes, checksum: 8f805839a0c1fe1136fb4081d7be5d18 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-12T15:33:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Kelen Cristiane Noleto da Costa.pdf: 3124445 bytes, checksum: 8f805839a0c1fe1136fb4081d7be5d18 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-09-30 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Several analysis can be performed using atmospheric muons produced in chain reactions caused by a cosmic ray particle. We can study the muon flux for different parameterizations of the atmosphere, the moon and sun shadowing effect, the muon charge ratio, etc. In this work, we are interested in the atmospheric muon charge ratio (rμ = Nμ+/Nμ−). This ratio has been observed by several experiments, for different energy ranges. The MINOS experiment has determined the muon charge ratio (rμ) in the GeV energy scale using the Near Detector and in the TeV energy scale using the Far Detector. This experiment has observed an increase of the muon charge ratio from 1.27 to 1.37 when the energy of the primary particle changed from ∼ 100 GeV to ∼ 1 TeV. This fact can be explained by the properties of the pions ( ) and the kaons (K). For higher energies, around 10 TeV, the decay of charming hadrons becomes important as a source of atmospheric leptons. Investigating the parameterization given by the Gaisser equation in order to study the intensity of positive and negative muons separately, it is possible to obtain the equation of the pion-kaon ( K) model. Using this model it was made an adjust with the of MINOS Near and Far Detector data, finding the f and fK parameters. These parameters are the fractions that contribute to the production of positive muons coming from de e K, respectively. The experimental values obtained were: f = 0.55 and fK = 0.70. In this work we simulated extensive air showers using the CORSIKA code. Different models that describe the hadronic interactions for high energy particles were used. Our goal was to verify if the models could reproduce the increase of muon charge ratio. This increase is associated with physics involving pion and kaon decays. We found the following parameters: f = 0.547 ± 0.003 and fK = 0.64 ± 0.02 for the QGSJET 01C model, f = 0.604 ± 0.003 and fK = 0.73 ± 0.02 for the SIBYLL model, f = 0.572 ± 0.003 and fK = 0.70 ± 0.02 for the VENUS model, f = 0.545 ± 0.004 and fK = 0.62 ± 0.03 for the QGSJETII model and f = 0.570 ± 0.003 and fK = 0.65 ± 0.02 for the DPMJET model. The increase of the muon charge ratio found in the MINOS data was 7.8%. In our simulation we found an increase of 3.2%, 8.3%, 5.7%, %4.0 and 2.5% for each one of the models, respectively. With these results, it was possible to observe that simulation models also show a significant increase of ratio, when we moved from scale GeV scale for TeV. And of course, this increase is characterized by properties of pions and kaons noting that physics is considered by the codes of models. / Várias análises podem ser feitas a partir de múons atmosféricos produzidos na reação em cadeia provocada por uma partícula de raio cósmico, como o estudo do fluxo de múons para diferentes parametrizações da atmosfera, da sombra da lua e do sol, da razão da carga entre múons atmosféricos. Neste trabalho estamos interessados na razão da carga entre múons atmosféricos (rμ = Nμ+/Nμ−). Essa razão foi determinada por diversos experimentos, para diferentes intervalos de energias. Especificamente, o experimento MINOS determinou a razão (rμ) na escala GeV com o Near Detector e na escala TeV com o Far Detector. Esse experimento observou um aumento da razão de 1,27 para 1,37 com o aumento da energia de ∼100 GeV para ∼ 1 TeV. O aumento dessa razão pode ser entendido a partir das propriedades dos píons ( ) e káons (K). Para energias maiores, cerca de 10 TeV, o decaimento de hádrons charmosos torna-se importante como fonte de léptons atmosféricos. Investigando a parametrização dada pela equação de Gaisser para estudar separadamente a intensidade dos múons positivos e negativos, é possível chegar na equação do modelo píon-káon ( K). Utilizando este modelo, foi feito um ajuste com os dados do MINOS Near e Far Detector, encontrando os parâmetros f e fK. Esses parâmetros são as frações que contribuem para a produção de múons positivos vindos de e K, respectivamente. Os valores experimentais encontrados foram: f = 0,55 e fK = 0,70. Neste trabalho simulamos chuveiros atmosféricos com o código CORSIKA. Diferentes modelos de interações hadrônicas de altas energias foram utilizados. O objetivo foi verificar se os modelos conseguiriam reproduzir o aumento da razão da carga de múons entre GeV e TeV. Esse aumento está associado à física envolvida no decaimento dos píons e káons. Encontramos os seguintes parâmetros: f = 0,550 ± 0,006 e fK = 0,61±0,03 para o modelo QGSJET 01C, f = 0,611±0,004 e fK = 0,67±0,02 para o modelo SIBYLL, f = 0,571 ± 0,005 e fK = 0,70 ± 0,03 para o modelo VENUS, f = 0,547±0,006 e fK = 0,61±0,04 para o modelo QGSJETII e para o modelo DPMJET, f = 0,574±0,004 e fK = 0,63±0,02. O aumento da razão para os dados do experimento MINOS foi de 7,8%; para a nossa simulação o aumento foi de 3,2%; 8,3%; 5,7%; 2,4% e 2,9%; respectivamente. Com esses resultados, foi possível observar que os modelos de simulação também evidenciam um aumento significativo da razão, quando passamos da escala GeV para escala TeV. Esse aumento é caracterizado pelas propriedades dos píons e káons, constatando que essa física é considerada pelos códigos dos modelos.

Sky conditions play an important role in the Earth’s climate system, altering the solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface and determining the fraction of incoming direct and diffuse radiation. Sky conditions dictate the radiation distribution inside plant canopies and also the carbon dioxide uptake by forests during the growing season. On the long term these diffuse conditions may have a positive influence on forest growth in Northern Britain during the last 50 years. We compared the quantity (amount) and quality (spectral distribution) of direct and diffuse radiation above, inside and below a forest stand under sunny, cloudy and overcast conditions in a thinned Sitka spruce [Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.] forest (28 years, with an leaf area index (LAI) of around 5 m2m-2). Similar radiation properties (sky conditions) were used for analysis of light response and canopy conductance measurements in the same and also in a different spruce forest of the same species (33 years, LAI of around 7 m2 m-2) over the growing season 2008 in order to compare canopy activity under these conditions. In order to integrate short-term and longterm studies, we were looking at how far these conditions are influencing forest growth over several decades. To do so, we used freshly cut tree discs of Sitka spruce from a felled forest (planting year 1953) in southern Scotland and solar direct and diffuse radiation along with other meteorological data from the nearest meteorological station. Our analysis show that the amount and quality of solar radiation is distributed differently inside forest stands under various sky conditions, leading to an enhanced carbon dioxide uptake and canopy stomatal activity under diffuse cloudy and overcast conditions. Furthermore we demonstrated which factors have influenced diffuse radiation distribution over the past 50 years and how these are correlated with forest growth in southern Scotland.

A thesis submitted to the School of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, June 2015. / Galaxy clusters are the largest virialised and most recently formed cosmic structures. Their study is therefore a powerful mechanism to probe the large scale properties of the universe. A full understanding of the non-thermal properties of galaxy clusters has not yet been achieved. In particular, the origin of radio halos in galaxy clusters is still a topic of debate today. Several models have been proposed to explain the origin of radio halos but all of these models present some problems either in reproducing observations or in predicting the values of their parameters. Recent observations of radio halos in clusters have shown that in some clusters the morphology of the radio emission appears to be more correlated with the distribution of galaxies than it is with the thermal gas. It has also been observed that while most clusters exhibit a correlation between the radio and X-ray luminosities, there are clear exceptions to this rule. Motivated by these observations, we propose a new theory to explain the origin of radio halos in clusters: that the radio emission observed in clusters is produced by electrons injected by different galaxies and di using in the intra cluster medium. In developing our theory, we study the diffusion of relativistic electrons in galaxies by obtaining a very general solution of the diffusion equation which describes the transport of cosmic rays. This solution allows us to study the spatial, spectral and temporal properties of relativistic electrons and their radio emission for a wide range of cosmic objects. We test this model by applying it to the radio galaxy M51 and reproduce its spatial and spectral properties. We also study the evolution of M51-like galaxies. The model is then applied to study radio halos in clusters of galaxies. We investigate how the properties of these radio halos change when the number and types of sources in a cluster are varied. We compare the results of this model with the observed radio map and density flux spectrum for several galaxy clusters, specifically the low-luminosity cluster CL1446+26 and other clusters with a range of luminosities. Our model provides a very promising explanation of the properties of radio halos in galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The observed properties like the morphology of radio maps in galaxy clusters, the ux spectrum and the correlation between radio and X-ray luminosities, can be reproduced by our model. This is done by considering the combination and evolution of galactic sources having radio properties similar to those of M51. Our model is simple and nevertheless very promising and therefore refining it can lead to a better understanding of the origin of radio halos.