QUIJOTE scientific results XIX. New constraints on the synchrotron spectral index using a semi-blind component separation method

TL;DR

This paper introduces a semi-blind foreground method that fuses moment expansion with constrained polarization ILC (cPILC) to map the Galactic synchrotron spectral index in polarization. It reconstructs two synchrotron moments from QUIJOTE MFI low-frequency data (11/13 GHz) together with WMAP K/Ka and Planck LFI 30 GHz, using dust deprojection via constraints and a pivot spectral index $\overline{β}_s$ in a first-order moment expansion; the two moments serve as the basis for a TT-plot to estimate $β_s$. The authors propagate uncertainties with an effective-variance approach that accounts for noise in both moments and marginalize over the polarization angle, while simulations including polarised AME assess potential biases. Applying the method to real data yields $β_s^{\rm plane} \approx -3.05$ and $β_s^{\rm high\text{-}lat} \approx -3.13$, with a region-wise (21-patch) analysis giving $β_s^{\rm all\ region} \approx -2.99$, and confirms a moderate latitude-dependent steepening of the synchrotron spectrum; the approach provides results consistent with previous parametric analyses while offering a robust, semi-blind alternative and outlining extensions to curvature via higher moments as data improve.

Abstract

We introduce a novel approach to estimate the spectral index, $β_s$, of polarised synchrotron emission, combining the moment expansion of CMB foregrounds and the constrained-ILC method. We reconstruct the maps of the first two synchrotron moments, combining multi-frequency data, and apply the `T-T plot' technique between two moment maps to estimate the synchrotron spectral index. This approach offers a new technique for mapping the foreground spectral parameters, complementing the model-based parametric component separation methods. Applying this technique, we derive a new constraint on the spectral index of polarised synchrotron emission using QUIJOTE MFI wide-survey 11 and 13 GHz data, Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data at K and Ka bands, and Planck LFI 30 GHz data. In the Galactic plane and North Polar Spur regions, we obtain an inverse-variance-weighted mean synchrotron index of $β_s = -3.11$ with a standard deviation of $0.21$ due to intrinsic scatter, consistent with previous results based on parametric methods using the same dataset. We find that the inverse-variance-weighted mean spectral index, including both statistical and systematic uncertainties, is $β_s^{\rm plane} = -3.05 \pm 0.01$ in the Galactic plane and $β_s^{\rm high\text{-}lat} = -3.13 \pm 0.02$ at high latitudes, indicating a moderate steepening of the spectral index from low to high Galactic latitudes. Our analysis indicates that, within the current upper limit on the AME polarisation fraction, our results are not subject to any appreciable bias. Furthermore, we infer the spectral index over the entire QUIJOTE survey region, partitioning the sky into 21 patches. This technique can be further extended to constrain the synchrotron spectral curvature by reconstructing higher-order moments when better-quality data become available.