Planck 2013 results. I. Overview of products and scientific results

TL;DR

Planck 2013 delivers high-precision, full-sky CMB observations across nine frequencies, producing robust ΛCDM parameter constraints and a precise lensing measurement while significantly improving foreground modeling. The paper demonstrates rigorous cross-instrument validation (LFI vs. HFI), comprehensive simulations, and a multi-faceted data-product release (CMB maps, lensing, likelihoods, and foreground catalogues) that enable cosmological inference and ISM studies. It confirms a near-flat ΛCDM universe with a pronounced departure from scale invariance in the primordial spectrum, tight limits on neutrino properties, and a lower $H_0$ compared with some local measurements, while revealing large-scale anomalies and a modest tension with SZ-derived amplitudes. The release underscores Planck's mature data-processing pipeline and sets the stage for polarization-dominated cosmology in 2014, including polarization maps and higher-order foreground analyses that will refine or revise these conclusions as systematics are further controlled.

Abstract

The ESA's Planck satellite, dedicated to studying the early Universe and its subsequent evolution, was launched 14 May 2009 and has been scanning the microwave and submillimetre sky continuously since 12 August 2009. This paper gives an overview of the mission and its performance, the processing, analysis, and characteristics of the data, the scientific results, and the science data products and papers in the release. The science products include maps of the CMB and diffuse extragalactic foregrounds, a catalogue of compact Galactic and extragalactic sources, and a list of sources detected through the SZ effect. The likelihood code used to assess cosmological models against the Planck data and a lensing likelihood are described. Scientific results include robust support for the standard six-parameter LCDM model of cosmology and improved measurements of its parameters, including a highly significant deviation from scale invariance of the primordial power spectrum. The Planck values for these parameters and others derived from them are significantly different from those previously determined. Several large-scale anomalies in the temperature distribution of the CMB, first detected by WMAP, are confirmed with higher confidence. Planck sets new limits on the number and mass of neutrinos, and has measured gravitational lensing of CMB anisotropies at greater than 25 sigma. Planck finds no evidence for non-Gaussianity in the CMB. Planck's results agree well with results from the measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations. Planck finds a lower Hubble constant than found in some more local measures. Some tension is also present between the amplitude of matter fluctuations derived from CMB data and that derived from SZ data. The Planck and WMAP power spectra are offset from each other by an average level of about 2% around the first acoustic peak.

Figures (28)

• Figure 1: Composite, multi-frequency, full-sky image released by Planck in 2010. Made from the first nine months of the data, it illustrates artistically the multitude of Galactic, extragalactic, and cosmological components of the radiation detected by its payload. Unless otherwise specified, all full-sky images in this paper are Mollweide projections in Galactic coordinates, pixelised according to the HEALPixgorski2005 scheme.
• Figure 2: Planck papers published simultaneously with the release of the 2013 products. The title of each paper is abbreviated. The roman numerals correspond to the sequence number assigned to each of the papers in the series; references include this number. Green boxes refer to papers describing aspects of data processing and the 2013 Planck products. Blue boxes refer to papers mainly dedicated to scientific analysis of the products. Pink boxes describe specific 2013 Planck products.
• Figure 3: The trajectory of Planck from launch until 13 January 2012, in Earth-centred rotating coordinates ($X$ is in the Sun-Earth direction; $Z$ points to the north ecliptic pole). Symbols indicate the start of routine operations (circle), the end of the nominal mission (triangle), and the end of HFI data acquisition (diamond). The orbital periodicity is 6months. The distance from the Earth-Moon barycentre is shown in the bottom right panel, together with Survey boundaries.
• Figure 4: Top two panels: the path of the spin axis of Planck (in ecliptic longitude and latitude) over the period 12 August 2009 (91 days after launch) to 13 January 2012, the "0.1-K mission" period (Table \ref{['TabSurveys']}). Bottom panel: the evolution of the dwell time during the same period. Intervals of acceleration/deceleration (e.g., around observations of the Crab) are clearly visible as symmetric temporary increases and reductions of dwell time. Survey boundaries are indicated by vertical dashed lines in the upper plot. The change in cycloid phase is clearly visible at operational day (OD) 807. The disturbances around OD950 are due to the "spin-up campaign".
• Figure 5: Survey coverage for the nominal (top) and 0.1-K (bottom) missions (see Table \ref{['TabSurveys']}). The colour scale represents total integration time (varying between 50 and 8000sdeg$^{-2}$) for the 353GHz channel. The maps are at $N_{\rm side}$ = 1024.