TRIS. II. Search for CMB Spectral Distortions at 0.60, 0.82, and 2.5 GHz

With the TRIS experiment we have performed absolute measurements of the sky brightness in a sky circle at δ = + 42° at the frequencies ν = 0.60, 0.82, and 2.5 GHz. In this paper we discuss the techniques used to separate the different contributions to the sky emission and give an evaluation of the absolute temperature of the CMB. For the blackbody temperature of the CMB we get TCMBth = 2.837 ± 0.129 ± 0.066 K at ν = 0.60 GHz, TCMBth = 2.803 ± 0.051−0.300+0.430 K at ν = 0.82 GHz, and TCMBth = 2.516 ± 0.139 ± 0.284 K at ν = 2.5 GHz. The first error bar is statistic (1 σ), while the second one is systematic. These results represent a significant improvement with respect to the previous measurements. We have also set new limits to the free-free distortions, –6.3 × 10−6 < Yff < 12.6 × 10−6, and slightly improved the Bose-Einstein upper limit, |μ| < 6 × 10−5, both at 95% confidence level.