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A Messier Microwave Sky Barely Moved the Cosmology

Residual foreground power rose 50% over idealized estimates, while 11-parameter uncertainties increased less than 7%.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-09-16-019
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Summary

Residual foreground power rose 50% over idealized estimates, while 11-parameter uncertainties increased less than 7%.

CMB-HD foreground simulations cover 100 square degrees at 2.5-arcsecond resolution and include infrared sources, radio galaxies and galaxy clusters. After source detection and cleaning, residual foreground-plus-noise power at 90 and 148 gigahertz was 50% higher than earlier idealized assumptions. Even so, forecast uncertainties across an 11-parameter cosmology grew by less than 7%, helped by polarization, cross spectra and lensing. The released simulations forecast a proposed survey; they are not observed CMB-HD data.

Why it matters

Residual foreground power rose 50% over idealized estimates, while 11-parameter uncertainties increased less than 7%.

Limits and context

  • The released simulations forecast a proposed survey; they are not observed CMB-HD data.

Key claims

  1. Residual foreground power rose 50% over idealized estimates, while 11-parameter uncertainties increased less than 7%.

    Qualification: The released simulations forecast a proposed survey; they are not observed CMB-HD data.

    Evidence: source-2026-09-16-021

Sources

  1. arXiv preprint 2609.16128arXiv · primary research

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this story.