Bayesian MAP detection of extragalactic point sources in microwave astronomical images

In this paper we review a maximum a posteriori (MAP) approach detection method in a Bayesian scheme which incorporates prior information about the source flux distribution, the locations and the number of sources of extragalactic point sources in images of the Cosmic Microwave Background. This new technique allows us to obtain fast solutions and to fix the number of detected sources in a non-arbitrary way. The performance of the method is superior to that of the standard frequentist approach based on the matched filter.