Covariance betw scalar amplitude & spectral index in Planck?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the covariance between scalar amplitude (A_s) and spectral index (n_s) as reported in the Planck 2013 results, specifically in Tables 3 and 4. The values for n_s are given as 0.9643±0.0059 and for A_s as ln(10^{10}A_s) = 3.089^{+0.024}_{-0.027}. The correlation between these parameters is emphasized, indicating that treating them as independent variables is misleading. The user seeks additional resources or data to better understand the joint confidence intervals for A_s and n_s, suggesting the use of Markov chains from the Planck data site for accurate analysis.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of scalar spectral index (n_s) and scalar amplitude (A_s) in cosmology
  • Familiarity with confidence intervals and statistical analysis
  • Knowledge of Planck data and its significance in cosmological studies
  • Experience with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods for parameter estimation
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the Planck 2013 results, particularly Tables 3 and 4 for A_s and n_s values
  • Investigate the use of Markov chains for analyzing joint confidence intervals in cosmological parameters
  • Review additional Planck papers for insights on the correlation between A_s and n_s
  • Learn about statistical methods for handling correlated parameters in cosmology
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, cosmologists, and researchers analyzing inflationary parameters in the context of the Planck satellite data will benefit from this discussion.

thecommexokid
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I am reading some of "Planck 2013 results. XXII. Constraints on inflation."

The paper is full of values for various inflationary parameters under various models, with their confidence intervals. For instance, in Table 5 on page 13, the authors report that — for a model including both running of the scalar spectral index and running-of-the-running, and considering Planck+WMAP+BAO data — the best values for the running and running-of-the-running are
\frac{dn_s}{d\ln k}=0.000^{+0.016}_{-0.013}
and
\frac{d^2n_s}{d\ln k^2}=0.017^{+0.016}_{-0.014},
where the ±'s indicate 1σ confidence intervals.

But the individual confidence levels do not tell nearly the whole story, as we see in Figure 3 on page 14, which shows the exact boundaries of the joint 1σ and 2σ confidence interval:
r0PleJy.png

We see in this figure that the running and the running-of-the-running are quite highly correlated, so that you would be quite misled about the joint probabilities if you only had the individual confidence levels from Table 5 without the figure alongside.

Now the numbers I myself am actually interested in are the scalar spectral index ns, which the authors of the Planck paper report in Table 4 (Planck+WMAP+BAO):
n_s = 0.9643\pm 0.0059
and the scalar amplitude As, which they report in Table 3 (Planck+WMAP):
\ln(10^{10}A_s) = 3.089^{+0.024}_{-0.027};
again, the ±'s signify 68% confidence intervals.

What I am doing is to run various simulations with different initial parameters and compute the values of the scalar amplitude and spectral index they predict. I'd like to be able to make some statement about the likelihood of the prediction by comparing to the observed values given in the Planck paper.

Unfortunately, the Planck paper does not contain a plot for scalar amplitude vs. spectral index akin to the one I included above for the running-of-running vs. running. But I imagine that the uncertainties in As and ns are likewise quite correlated, and that simply treating As and ns as independent, skew-normally-distributed parameters is a poor approach.

Are there other Planck papers, or publicly available Planck data somewhere (or for that matter other sections of "XXII" — I freely admit I haven't read the whole thing), that would give me a sense of the shape of the joint confidence interval for As and ns?
 
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