A High Spatial Resolution Analysis of the MAXIMA-1 Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Data

Abstract

We extend the analysis of the MAXIMA-1 cosmic microwave background data to smaller angular scales. MAXIMA, a bolometric balloon-borne experiment, mapped a 124 deg2 region of the sky with 10′ resolution at frequencies of 150, 240, and 410 GHz during its first flight. The original analysis, which covered the multipole range 36 ≤ l ≤ 785 using a 100 deg2 map, is extended to l = 1235 using a subset of the data from three 150 GHz photometers in the fully cross-linked central 60 deg2 of the map. The main improvement over the original analysis is the use of 3′ square pixels in the calculation of the map. The new analysis is consistent with the original for l < 785. For l > 785, where inflationary models predict a third acoustic peak, the new analysis shows power with an amplitude of 56 ± 7 μK at l ≃ 850 in excess to the average power of 42 ± 3 μK in the range 441 < l < 785.