The Quad Experiment
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New Astronomy Reviews 50 (2006) 984–992 www.elsevier.com/locate/newastrev The QUaD experiment C. Pryke Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637-1433, USA Available online 7 November 2006 For the QUaD Collaboration. Abstract QUaD is a 31 pixel array of polarization sensitive bolometer pairs coupled to a 2.6 m Cassegrain radio telescope. The telescope is attached to the mount originally built for the DASI experiment and located at the South Pole. The telescope system is described along with details of instrumental characterization studies which we have performed. A first season of CMB observations is complete and the second season underway. Details of the current status of these observations and their analysis are presented. Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V. Keywords: Cosmic microwave background; Polarization Contents 1. Introduction . 985 2. The QUaD experiment. 986 2.1. Telescope.............................................................................. 986 2.2. Focalpane............................................................................. 986 2.3. Telescopescanning....................................................................... 987 3. Instrument performance and characterization . 987 3.1. Gaincalibrationandstability................................................................ 987 3.2. Atmosphericrejection..................................................................... 988 3.3. Beammaps............................................................................. 988 3.4. Characterizationofpolarizationanglesandefficiencies.............................................. 988 4. CMB observations . 989 4.1. Groundpickup.......................................................................... 989 5. Observation strategy . 990 5.1. Statusoftheanalysisoffirstyeardata......................................................... 990 5.2. ChecksforpolarizationsystematicsintheQUaDsystem............................................ 991 6. Conclusions. 991 Acknowledgements . 991 References . 992 E-mail address: [email protected]. 1387-6473/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.newar.2006.09.030 C. Pryke / New Astronomy Reviews 50 (2006) 984–992 985 1. Introduction The past decade has seen an explosion in our under- T 2 density oscillations standing of the birth and evolution of the Universe in 10 which we find ourselves, and we now have a detailed ‘‘stan- dard cosmological model’’ known as LCDM. A central 0 E piece of the evidence for this model is the existence and 10 ) 2 lensing detailed properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background K μ ( (CMB)—a relic radiation field which comes to us from a l B time approximately 400,000 years after the beginning, ) C 2 π 10 when our expanding, cooling Universe made the transition gravity waves from an opaque plasma to transparent gas—an event called ‘‘recombination’’. The anisotropy of the CMB traces l(l+1) / (2 the density structure at the time of recombination and the spatial characteristics of the pattern have been shown to be 100 in excellent agreement with the predictions of the LCDM TE 0 model. This model also predicts that the CMB should be polarized at a level 10%, and further that there should 100 be a nearly deterministic relationship between the unpolar- ized and polarized angular power spectra (Hu and White, 2 50 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1997). l (angular scale) Although wildly successful in terms of agreement with Fig. 1. The angular power spectra of the CMB—see text for details (figure detailed experimental results the LCDM model is deeply courtesy of J. Kovac). uncomfortable. In addition to including a 30% contribu- tion to the current energy density of the Universe in the form of mysterious collision-less dark matter, it also inflationary models is the existence of tensor perturbations requires that empty space itself have an energy density— propagating through the Universe. Such perturbations the so called dark energy. Given this seeming paradox of would produce both E and B-mode polarization anisot- a well developed model which seems able to pass all the ropy. While the E-mode contribution would be swamped available tests, and the gaping hole in our understanding below the density induced E, the inflationary B-modes which this model represents we are compelled to test the might be detectable above the lensing-B at ‘ numbers model in all available ways—the quest to measure CMB around 100. polarization is central amongst these efforts. We have then the motivation for measuring the polari- One can decompose a polarization pattern into two sca- zation anisotropy of the CMB: at ‘ < 30 to constrain re- lar fields dubbed the E-mode (curl free) and B-mode (all ionization, at 30 < ‘ < 100 to look for inflation, and at curl) components. Fig. 1 shows the relationship between ‘ > 100 to aggressively test the LCDM paradigm and gain the various CMB power spectra. The same density fluctua- information about large scale structure through lensing tions which give rise to the total intensity (T) anisotropy (see below). also produce E-mode polarization anisotropy. The inten- It is often stated that measuring polarization is worth- sity anisotropy is caused directly by the density fluctuations while not just to test LCDM, but also to increase the accu- while the polarization anisotropy is caused primarily by the racy with which its parameters can be constrained. motions of material induced by these variations in density. However as has been demonstrated by the Boomerang This distinction is what causes the peaks of the E spectrum group (MacTavish et al., 2006) polarization data of modest to be anti-phase with respect to the T spectrum. Because quality at ‘ > 100 adds little when considering the vanilla the motions occur along the density gradients the intrinsic LCDM model. If one believes in LCDM it probably makes polarization pattern is curl free—pure E-mode. The CMB more sense to push measurements of T at high ‘ rather than travels to us through evolving large scale structure which to measure E-mode polarization. If lensing-B can be gravitationally lenses the radiation distorting the pattern detected the situation changes since our lack of knowledge and producing a small ‘‘lensing-B’’ component. Re-scatter- of the neutrino mass translates into a factor 2 uncertainty ing of the CMB after the Universe re-ionizes causes modi- in the expected level of lensing-B. fication of these spectra at large angular scales (smaller ‘ The Polarization of the CMB was first detected by the number) as shown by the dotted lines in the figure. 30 GHz radio interferometer DASI operating at South LCDM does not depend explicitly on how the Universe Pole (Kovac et al., 2002). DASI made a convincing detec- came to be, assuming only the simplest possible initial con- tion of E-mode polarization in the ‘ range of a few hun- ditions at some very early time (scale free adiabatic pertur- dreds, and also TE cross correlation in the same range. bations). Inflation is a very popular class of theories which Shortly thereafter the WMAP experiment announced naturally produce such conditions. A generic prediction of results on TE at low ‘. We now have measurements of 986 C. Pryke / New Astronomy Reviews 50 (2006) 984–992 the E and TE spectra from CBI, Capmap, B2K and second optics called QUEST with a view to putting these on the releases from DASI and WMAP. As we see in Fig. 2 the DASI mount at South Pole. A new collaboration called current situation is that the first few peaks of the E-mode QUaD for ‘‘QUEST and DASI’’ was formed and work spectrum are starting to becomes clear and everything con- started on coupling the receiver and optics to the mount. tinues to look good for the standard LCDM expectation. The QUaD experiment is a 31-pixel polarization-sensi- The QUaD experiment is optimized for polarization tive bolometric camera mounted on a 2.6 m Cassegrain measurements at ‘ > 100, and so as explained above is radio telescope (Cahill et al., 2004). QUaD observes the focused on testing the LCDM paradigm. With several CMB in two frequency bands nominally centered at 100 years of data a low significance detection of lensing-B and 150 GHz. At these frequencies the South Pole site pro- may become possible. In this paper we describe the QUaD vides outstanding atmospheric conditions (Bussmann et al., telescope and the current status of the observations and 2005) and has provided ground-breaking CMB measure- data analysis. In Section 2 the telescope system and basic ments through experiments such as DASI and ACBAR observing strategy is outlined. Section 3 gives details of (Kuo et al., 2004). some of the instrumental characterization studies we have done. Finally Section 4 describes the current status of the 2.1. Telescope CMB observations and analysis. The telescope mount is altitude-azimuth with a third 2. The QUaD experiment axis which allows the entire telescope to be rotated about the line-of-sight. Absolute pointing is under 10 rms. The After four years of operation the DASI experiment was secondary mirror is supported by a one piece cone made decommissioned. During the last year of its operation the from a foam which is almost perfectly RF transparent DASI team was approached by a group already engaged (Zotefoam) to minimize stray reflections that would other- in building a CMB polarization receiver and associated wise arise from solid feed legs. The Cassegrain