Detecting point sources in CMB maps using an efficient parallel algorithm

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is a diffuse radiation which is contaminated by the radiation emitted by point sources. The precise knowledge of CMB fluctuations can lead to a better knowledge of the chemistry at the early stages of the Universe. In this work, we present an efficient algorithm, with a high degree of parallelism, which can improve, from the computational point of view, the classical approaches for detecting point sources in Cosmic Microwave Background maps. High performance computing libraries and parallel computing techniques have allowed to construct a portable, fast and numerically stable algorithm. To check the performance of the new method, we have carried out several simulations resembling the observational data collected by the Low Frequency Instrument of the Planck satellite. The sources are detected in their real positions. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.