CMB Toolbox Overview

We provide links to a number of useful tools for CMB and Astronomy in general.

CMB Tools

• Contributed Software is an archive at a LAMBDA partner site for tools built by members of the community.
• CMBFast - A tool that computes spectra for the cosmic background for a given set of CMB parameters. LAMBDA provides a web-based interface for this tool. Seljak and Zaldarriaga
• CAMB - Code for Anisotropies in the Microwave Background that computes spectra for a set of CMB parameters. LAMBDA provides a web-based interface for this tool. Lewis and Challinor
• CMBEASY - A C++ package, initially based on CMBFAST, now featuring a parameter likelihood package as well. Doran
• CMBview - A Mac OS X program for viewing HEALPix-format CMB data on an OpenGL-rendered sphere. Portsmouth
• COMBAT - A set of computational tools for CMB analysis. Borrill et al.
• CosmoMC - A Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo engine for exploring cosmological parameter space. Lewis and Bridle
• CosmoNet - Accelerated cosmological parameter estimation using Neural Networks.
• GLESP - Gauss-Legendre sky pixelization package. Doroshkevich, et al.
• HEALPix - A spherical sky pixelization scheme. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data skymap products are supplied in this form. Górski et al.
• IGLOO - A sky pixelization package. Crittenden and Turok
• MADCAP - Microwave Anisotropy Data Computational Analysis Package. Borrill et al.
• PICO - Integrates with CAMB and/or CosmoMC for cosmological parameter estimation using machine learning. Wandelt and Fendt
• RADPACK - Radical Compression Analysis Package. Knox
• RECFAST - Software to calculate the recombination history of the Universe. Seager, Sasselov, and Scott
• SkyViewer is a LAMBDA-developed OpenGL-based program to display HEALPix-based skymaps stored in FITS format files. Phillips
• SpiCE - Spatially Inhomogenous Correlation Estimator. Szapudi et al.
• WMAPViewer is a LAMBDA-developed web-based CMB map viewing tool using a technology similar to that found on maps.google.com. Phillips
• WOMBAT - Microwave foreground emission tools. Gawiser, Finkbeiner, Jaff et al.

Other Tools

• WMAP Effective Frequency Calculator - A tool that calculates the effective frequencies of the five WMAP frequency bands.
• CFITSIO - A library of C and Fortran routines for reading and writing data in the FITS format.
• IDL Astro - The IDL Astronomy Users Library.
• Conversion Utilities - A small collection of astronomical conversion utilities.
• Calculators - A list of links to calculators.

This collection of tools can only be extended and improved with your input! Please feel free to send us suggestions and comments.