Constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity from a needlet analysis of the WMAP-5 data

Abstract

We look for a non-Gaussian signal in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 5-year temperature anisotropy maps by performing a needlet-based data analysis. We use the foreground-reduced maps obtained by the WMAP team through the optimal combination of the W, V and Q channels, and perform realistic non-Gaussian simulations in order to constrain the non-linear coupling parameter fNL. We apply a third-order estimator of the needlet coefficients skewness and compute the χ2 statistics of its distribution. We obtain -80 < fNL < 120 at 95 per cent confidence level, which is consistent with a Gaussian distribution and comparable to previous constraints on the non-linear coupling. We then develop an estimator of fNL based on the same simulations and we find consistent constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity. We finally compute the three-point correlation function in needlet space: the constraints on f NL improve to -50 < fNL < 110 at 95 per cent confidence level. © 2009 RAS.