Download or read book Data Analysis for the E and B EXperiment and Instrumentation Development for Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry written by Derek Carl Araujo and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Part II we present recent developments in instrumentation for the next generation of CMB polarimeters. The developments we describe, including advances in lumped-element kinetic inductance detector (LEKID) technology and the development of a hollow-shaft SMB-based motor for use in HWP polarimetry, were motivated in part by the design for a prospective ground-based CMB polarimeter based in Greenland.
Download or read book Construction Deployment and Data Analysis of the E and B EXperiment written by Joy Maria Elise Didier-Scapel and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this thesis we report on the construction, deployment and data analysis of EBEX. We review the development of the pointing sensors and software used for real-time attitude determination and control, including pre-flight testing and calibration. We then report on the 2013 long duration flight (LD2013) and review all the major stages of the analysis pipeline used to transform the ~1 TB of raw data into polarized sky maps. We review "LEAP", the software framework developed to support the analysis pipeline. We discuss in detail the novel program developed to reconstruct the attitude post-flight and estimate the effect of attitude errors on measured B-mode signals. We describe the bolometer time-stream cleaning procedure including removing the HWP-synchronous signal, and we detail the map making procedure. Finally we present a novel method to measure and subtract instrumental polarization, after which we show Galaxy and CMB maps.
Download or read book Sensitive Detection of CMB B Mode Polarization written by Stephanie Moyerman and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Numerous experiments in the last two decades have shown that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a powerful cosmological probe. The temperature anisotropy of the CMB has now been mapped to exquisite precision by many experiments, yielding tight constraints on the standard LCDM cosmological model. Many current and upcoming experiments focus on measuring CMB polarization, in particular the B-mode polarization, which potentially encodes information from long before the epoch of matter-radiation decoupling. However, the magnitude of the inflationary B-mode signal is constrained by an upper limit of tens of nK, which represents a massive experimental challenge. Foreground contamination and systematic effects, among other factors, further increase the difficulty of detection. A measurement of this signal therefore requires the development of dedicated telescopes with exquisite control of systematics and large kilo-pixel arrays of background limited detectors. This thesis describes my work on Cosmic Microwave Background polarization studies. Specifically, it describes my data analysis efforts on two CMB polarization telescopes, BICEP and POLARBEAR, my contribution to hardware efforts on POLARBEAR, and my design and fabrication work on next generation detector arrays.
Download or read book MAXIPOL written by Bradley R. Johnson (Astrophysicist) and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Millimeter wave Polarimetry Instrumentation and Analysis written by Evan M. Bierman and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The chapters in this thesis roughly follow a reverse chronological order of my work in graduate school. Chapter 1 is the culmination of work with Dr. Dowell at Caltech, motivated by Professor Keating, to study polarized Galactic emission. Although the main goal of BICEP was to search for CMB B-modes, observation time was also spent on the Galactic plane region. Initially the data were collected to understand Galactic emission as a foreground of CMB polarization; however, the final paper focused on studying Galactic physics and not the CMB. Through comparison of BICEP data to other experiments, different models of the polarization production were explored. This paper also served as the initial instrument paper for the 220 GHz hardware added to BICEP for the second and third observing seasons. Chapter 2 is the software analysis work related to the paper in Chapter 1 that either did not make it into the paper or did not pan out. To explore BICEP's capabilities and produce better maps different scan strategies were explored such as full 360° scans and elevation scanning. BICEP observations are contaminated on large scales by a noise source that has not been fully identified. Different mapmaking methods were explored to remove this systematic as well as 1/ f noise and telescope systematics to maximize recovered signal. Chapter 3 represents a sample of contributions to the BICEP telescope and the UCSD FTS. To characterize the spectral response of the BICEP telescope and the faraday rotation modulators, I helped design and construct the UCSD including layout and optical design, synthesizing wire grids, integrating the system with our lab's test cryostat, and developing software and analysis tools. My main contribution to the CMB polarization work on BICEP was analysis of calibration data. Specifically I talk about my work to understand the beams and differential pointing from observations of the Moon. Chapter 4 represents my work on Faraday Rotation devices. Initially, these devices were developed to overcome 1/ f noise and some beam systematics; however, the usage of these devices were limited and their full capabilities were not tested. The devices were shown to work generally as designed and were followed up by similar devices developed and deployed for the MBI-4 experiment.
Download or read book Detector Readout Electronics for EBEX written by François Aubin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "EBEX (the E and B Experiment) is a balloon-borne telescope with 8' resolution primarily designed to detect the B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation, which would represent strong evidence for the inflationary period of the universe. EBEX will also characterize the galactic dust and the gravitational lensing. During a 11 day long duration science flight over Antarctica scheduled for the Austral Summer of 2012-2013, EBEX will operate 872, 436 and 256 spider-web transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers at 150, 250 and 410 GHz, respectively, and observe a 350 square degree patch of sky. The EBEX engineering flight in June 2009 over New Mexico and Arizona provided the first usage of both a large array of TES bolometers and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) based multiplexed readout system in a space-like environment. The sensors were read out with a new SQUID-based digital frequency domain multiplexed (DfMUX) readout system that was designed to meet the low noise, low power consumption and robust autonomous operation requirements presented by a balloon experiment. The DfMUX readout system successfully tuned, monitored and operated the EBEX camera at float. This successful demonstration increases the technology readiness level of these bolometers and the associated readout system for future space missions.In preparation for the science flight, the bolometer specifications to optimize the sensitivity of the EBEX camera have been calculated and verified to provide EBEX with the required sensitivity to meet its science goals. A series of bolometer wafers were produced at University of California, Berkeley, and characterized at McGill University and University of Minnesota. From these wafers, 14 have been selected for integration for the EBEX long duration balloon flight. The multiplexing factor of the DfMUX readout system has also been demonstrated to be improved from 8 to 16. An algorithm allowing for the monitoring of the camera setup and the camera performance at float has been developed. The camera operator will use this algorithm to the camera during flight in order to optimize both the observing time of the telescope and the sensitivity of the camera. EBEX is ready to perform its long-duration science flight." --
Download or read book Measuring Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background with the South Pole Telescope Polarization Experiment written by James Sayre and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The South Pole Telescope Polarization experiment (SPTpol) is a camera consisting of 180 (588) pixels observing bands centered at 90 (150) GHz, installed on the South Pole Telescope in December 2012. It is a high-resolution, high-sensitivity instrument for mapping the polarized component of the Cosmic Microwave Background. In this thesis, we describe the development, testing, and deployment of transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers that make up the camera pixels, as well as the data analysis pipeline used to generate power spectra of the CMB. The tests used to measure various detector properties are described and their results displayed, and details of the analysis routines are explained. We conclude with preliminary results from SPTpol and a discussion of future directions for the experiment.
Download or read book Development of a Balloon borne Polarimeter to Study the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization written by Claudio Macculi and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The POLARBEAR Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Experiment and Anti Reflection Coatings for Millimeter Wave Observations written by Erin Quealy and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New technology has rapidly advanced the field of observational cosmology over the last 30 years. This trend will continue with the development of technologies to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization. The B-mode component of the polarization map will place limits on the energy scale of inflation and the sum of the neutrino masses. This thesis describes the \pb instrument which will measure the CMB polarization anisotropy to unprecedented sensitivity. POLARBEAR-I is currently observing, and an upgraded version, POLARBEAR-II, is planned for the future. The first version of the experiment, POLARBEAR-I, is fielding several new technologies for the first time. POLARBEAR-I has high sensitivity due to its detector count. It employs a 1274 detector Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) bolometer array. The bolometers are coupled to a planar array of polarization sensitive antennas. These antennas are lithographed on the same substrate as the TES detectors, allowing on-chip band defining filters between the antenna and detector. The focal plane is composed of seven hexagonal detector modules. This modular scheme can be extended to create larger focal plane arrays in the future. POLARBEAR-I is observing at a single band near 150 GHz, the peak in the CMB blackbody curve. The lenslet antenna coupled detector technology, fielding for the first time in POLARBEAR-I, is naturally scalable to larger arrays with multi-chroic pixels. This broadband technology will have higher sensitivity and better capability for astronomical foreground contaminant removal. The antenna geometry can be changed to receive a wider frequency bandwidth. This bandwidth can be broken into multiple frequency bands with the on-chip band defining filters. Each band will be read out by one TES detector. A dual band instrument, \pbtwo, is in development with bands at 90 and 150 GHz. One challenge for all CMB polarization measurements is minimization of systematic errors. One source of error is polarized reflections off of the refractive optics inside the receiver. Specifically, the antenna-coupled detector scheme relies on a high dielectric lenslet for each pixel on the focal plane. A large portion of this thesis discusses development of anti-reflection (AR) coatings for the high curvature lenslet surface. The AR coating technologies discussed are also applicable to other optical elements, such as reimaging lenses and half-wave plates. A single layer coating is used on the \pbone lenslet array, and a two layer coating is presented for use in \pbtwo. The two layer coating method can be extended to wider bandwidth AR coatings.
Download or read book High Fidelity Maps of the CMB Polarization from the First Two Campaigns of the POLARBEAR Experiment and Their Statistical Exploitation written by Davide Poletti and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis concerns the cosmic microwave background (CMB) map-making problem in the presence of filtering. The observations of the CMB kept refining our understanding of the universe over the past decades. The characterisation of its curl-like polarisation pattern - the so-called B-modes - is expected to convey invaluable information on both the primordial and the late universe as well as on fundamental physics.In order to extract these unique constraints from the faint B-mode signal, the quality and the size of CMB datasets have been constantly increasing, posing serious challenges for data analysis. The reconstruction of the map of the observed sky compresses by many orders of magnitude the data volume, white striving for preserving ail the cosmological information. In this process, the raw data are typically filtered in order to remove unwanted signais of instrumental or astrophysical origins. This thesis illustrates the formalism for performing general filtering operations and for incorporating them in the map-making procedure. The realistic circumstances under which this unbiased estimation of the sky signal can succeed are also investigated, both in general and in the specific context of ground-based experiments. This new formalism has been innplemented in a massively parallel map-making code, capable of producing high fidelity renditions of the sky as well as their detailed statistical characterisation. The methodology and the tool are then applied to the analysis of the first and second season data POLARBEAR, one of the leading experiments in the B-modes quest.
Download or read book The Cosmic Microwave Background written by C.H. Lineweaver and published by Springer. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on the Cosmological Background Radiation, Strasbourg, France, May 27-June 7, 1996
Download or read book Design and Testing of Tuning Algorithms for the E and B EXperiment EBEX written by Kevin MacDermid and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Intrinsic Bispectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background written by Guido Walter Pettinari and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nominated as an outstanding thesis by Professor Robert Crittenden of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation in Portsmouth, and winner of the Michael Penston Prize for 2014 given by the Royal Astronomical Society for the best doctoral thesis in Astronomy or Astrophysics, this work aims to shed light on one of the most important probes of the early Universe: the bispectrum of the cosmic microwave background. The CMB bispectrum is a potential window on exciting new physics, as it is sensitive to the non-Gaussian features in the primordial fluctuations, the same fluctuations that evolved into today’s planets, stars and galaxies. However, this invaluable information is potentially screened, as not all of the observed non-Gaussianity is of primordial origin. Indeed, a bispectrum arises even for perfectly Gaussian initial conditions due to non-linear dynamics, such as CMB photons scattering off free electrons and propagating in an inhomogeneous Universe. Dr. Pettinari introduces the reader to this intrinsic bispectrum in a pedagogic way, building up from the standard model of cosmology and from cosmological perturbation theory, the tool cosmologists use to unravel the history of the cosmos. In doing so, he introduces SONG, a new and efficient code for solving the second-order Einstein and Boltzmann equations. Next, he moves on to answer the crucial question: is the intrinsic bispectrum going to screen the primordial signal in the CMB? Using SONG, he computes the intrinsic bispectrum and shows how its contamination leads to a small bias in the estimates of primordial non-Gaussianity, a great news for the prospect of using CMB data to probe primordial non-Gaussianity.
Download or read book Precise Measurement of B mode Polarization Signal from the Cosmic Microwave Background with Polarbear and the Simons Array written by Praween Siritanasak and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history, human beings have always sought to answer the question "what was the origin of the universe?" The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is one of the most essential scientific tools that will help us better understand the universe. The temperature maps of the CMB have allowed us to study the nature of the early universe through the standard [Lambda]CDM model as well as to describe its evolution. Nevertheless, many questions remain. The next step in finding the answer lies in the measurement of the B-mode polarization of the CMB. These faint signals from the primordial universe are expected to be key pieces of evidence of the inflationary gravitational wave. Successful detection of this B-mode polarization would not only serve as direct evidence of the inflation theory but also lead to constraining of inflationary model and the energy scale of inflation. Moreover, the gravitational lensing of CMB E-mode polarization to B-mode polarization signal at small angular scales will allow us to trace back to the distribution of matter in our universe. This dissertation describes the details of the Polarbear instrument which is designed to detect CMB B-mode polarization. The results from the first and second observational season are also described. Furthermore, this dissertation discusses the development of the Simons Array instrument, which is the expansion of Polarbear with expanded capabilities and increased sensitivity. The Simons Array is scheduled to deploy in 2018.
Download or read book CMB Polarization Workshop written by Scott Dodelson and published by American Institute of Physics. This book was released on 2009-06-24 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The workshop brought together experts in astronomy and particle physics to make the science case for a satellite mission to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Detailed maps of the CMB polarization will potentially reveal clues about the origin of the universe. An early epoch of inflation typically produces a spectrum of gravitational waves and these leave a distinctive imprint on the CMB polarization field. The workshop addressed all theoretical aspects of this science: which inflationary models predict an amplitude that will be detected and which do not? What do alternatives to inflation predict? Apart from the gravitational wave signal, what other science can be gleaned from these measurements? High resolution maps should have traces of gravitational lensing which in turn is affected by dark energy and massive neutrinos. How well will a satellite mission be able to measure these effects? CMB polarization also speaks to the end of the Dark Ages; the constraints on reionzation are discussed in the context of all other probes. Finally, several articles – based on many talks and follow-up work – probe the science of and removal of Galactic foregrounds.
Download or read book A Rotating Polarized Source written by Kristi J. Bradford and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book New Worlds New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-02-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. Based on a broad and comprehensive survey of scientific opportunities, infrastructure, and organization in a national and international context, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics outlines a plan for ground- and space- based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade of the 2010's. Realizing these scientific opportunities is contingent upon maintaining and strengthening the foundations of the research enterprise including technological development, theory, computation and data handling, laboratory experiments, and human resources. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics proposes enhancing innovative but moderate-cost programs in space and on the ground that will enable the community to respond rapidly and flexibly to new scientific discoveries. The book recommends beginning construction on survey telescopes in space and on the ground to investigate the nature of dark energy, as well as the next generation of large ground-based giant optical telescopes and a new class of space-based gravitational observatory to observe the merging of distant black holes and precisely test theories of gravity. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommends a balanced and executable program that will support research surrounding the most profound questions about the cosmos. The discoveries ahead will facilitate the search for habitable planets, shed light on dark energy and dark matter, and aid our understanding of the history of the universe and how the earliest stars and galaxies formed. The book is a useful resource for agencies supporting the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, the scientific community, and the public.
