Ground-based Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Research Articles

Photonic Integrated Circuits for Microwave Astronomy

One of the main objectives of cosmology is the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization and, in particular, the so-called B-modes, which could demonstrate the existence of the primordial gravitational waves generated at the early stages of the Universe. For this reason, a new integrated version of the heterodyne polarimeter photonic part shown on a previously proposed scheme that can be used in both direct imaging and interferometric instruments is presented. We have tested its properties using specific commercial software, obtaining promising results. Working as a direct imaging instrument, it is shown that the proposed polarimeter can provide sufficiently low polarization angle and polarization efficiency systematic errors, which are considered acceptable for current ground-based CMB polarization experiments dedicated to the characterization of the foreground signals affecting the lowest part of the frequency spectrum.

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Microwave Intensity and Polarization Maps of the Galactic Center

Abstract We present arcminute-resolution intensity and polarization maps of the Galactic center made with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The maps cover a 32 deg2 field at 98, 150, and 224 GHz with ∣l∣ ≤ 4°, ∣b∣ ≤ 2°. We combine these data with Planck observations at similar frequencies to create coadded maps with increased sensitivity at large angular scales. With the coadded maps, we are able to resolve many known features of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) in both total intensity and polarization. We map the orientation of the plane-of-sky component of the Galactic magnetic field inferred from the polarization angle in the CMZ, finding significant changes in morphology in the three frequency bands as the underlying dominant emission mechanism changes from synchrotron to dust emission. Selected Galactic center sources, including Sgr A*, the Brick molecular cloud (G0.253+0.016), the Mouse pulsar wind nebula (G359.23-0.82), and the Tornado supernova remnant candidate (G357.7-0.1), are examined in detail. These data illustrate the potential for leveraging ground-based cosmic microwave background polarization experiments for Galactic science.

A Measurement of the CMB E-mode Angular Power Spectrum at Subdegree Scales from 670 Square Degrees of POLARBEAR Data

Abstract We report a measurement of the E-mode polarization power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using 150 GHz data taken from 2014 July to 2016 December with the Polarbear experiment. We reach an effective polarization map noise level of - across an observation area of 670 square degrees. We measure the EE power spectrum over the angular multipole range , tracing the third to seventh acoustic peaks with high sensitivity. The statistical uncertainty on E-mode bandpowers is ∼2.3 at , with a systematic uncertainty of 0.5 . The data are consistent with the standard ΛCDM cosmological model with a probability-to-exceed of 0.38. We combine recent CMB E-mode measurements and make inferences about cosmological parameters in ΛCDM as well as in extensions to ΛCDM. Adding the ground-based CMB polarization measurements to the Planck data set reduces the uncertainty on the Hubble constant by a factor of 1.2 to . When allowing the number of relativistic species ( ) to vary, we find , which is in good agreement with the standard value of 3.046. Instead allowing the primordial helium abundance ( ) to vary, the data favor . This is very close to the expectation of 0.2467 from big bang nucleosynthesis. When varying both and , we find and .

Measurements of Tropospheric Ice Clouds with a Ground-based CMB Polarization Experiment, POLARBEAR

Abstract The polarization of the atmosphere has been a long-standing concern for ground-based experiments targeting cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization. Ice crystals in upper tropospheric clouds scatter thermal radiation from the ground and produce a horizontally polarized signal. We report a detailed analysis of the cloud signal using a ground-based CMB experiment, Polarbear, located at the Atacama desert in Chile and observing at 150 GHz. We observe horizontally polarized temporal increases of low-frequency fluctuations (“polarized bursts,” hereafter) of ≲0.1 K when clouds appear in a webcam monitoring the telescope and the sky. The hypothesis of no correlation between polarized bursts and clouds is rejected with >24σ statistical significance using three years of data. We consider many other possibilities including instrumental and environmental effects, and find no reasons other than clouds that can explain the data better. We also discuss the impact of the cloud polarization on future ground-based CMB polarization experiments.

Scientific optimization of a ground-based CMB polarization experiment

We investigate the science goals achievable with the upcoming generation of ground-based cosmic microwave background polarization experiments, focusing on one particular experiment, QUaD [QUEST (Q and U Extragalactic Submillimetre Telescope) and DASI (Degree Angular Scale Interferometer)], a proposed bolometric polarimeter operating from the South Pole. We calculate the optimal sky coverage for this experiment, including the effects of foregrounds and gravitational lensing. We find that an E-mode measurement will be sample-limited, whereas a B-mode measurement will be detector-noise-limited. We conclude that a 300 deg2 survey is an optimal compromise for a 2-yr experiment to measure both E and B modes, and that a ground-based polarization experiment can make an important contribution to B-mode surveys. QUaD can make a high significance measurement of the acoustic peaks in the E-mode spectrum, over a multipole range of 25 < ? < 2500, and will be able to detect the gravitational lensing signal in the B-mode spectrum. Such an experiment could also directly detect the gravitational wave component of the B-mode spectrum if the amplitude of the signal is close to current upper limits. We also investigate how QUaD can improve constraints on the cosmological parameters. We estimate that combining two years of QUaD data with the 4-yr Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data can improve constraints on ?bh2, ?mh2, h, r and ns by a factor of 2. If the foreground contamination can be reduced, the measurement of r can be improved by up to a factor of 6 over that obtainable from WMAP alone. These improved accuracies will place strong constraints on the potential of the inflaton field.