An Arcminute-Scale Search for Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background

弧分尺度的宇宙微波背景偏振搜索

• 批准号: 9900868
• 负责人: Andrew Lange
• 金额: $ 18.4万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-06-01 至 2002-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9900868&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Arcminute; Scale; Search; Polarization; Cosmic

Dr. Lange is using a new instrument called Polatron to observe partial polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Such polarization is predicted by theory but not yet observed.The CMB is presumed to represent the imprint of the Universe that is only 3000,000 years old. At that age, radiation and matter decoupled from each other, the Universe became transparent to radiation, material structure developed. If the basic theoretical framework in which we understand the origins of CMB temperature anisotropies is correct, there exists a polarization field that is precisely correlated in amplitude and direction with the temperature anisotropy field. An accurate measurement of this polarization field provides, in principle, as direct a probe of the initial conditions from which structure formed as an accurate measurement of the temperature anisotropy. The Polatron is a bolometric receiver that will measure CMB polarization at 100 GHz.. The instrument is used at the 5.5 m telescope at the Owens Valley radio Observatory. ***

兰格博士正在使用一种名为Polatron的新仪器来观察宇宙微波背景辐射（CMB）的部分极化。这种极化是由理论预测的，但尚未观察到。据推测，CMB代表了30万年历史的宇宙的印记。在那个时代，辐射和物质相互分离，宇宙对辐射变得透明，物质结构发展起来。如果我们理解宇宙微波背景温度各向异性起源的基本理论框架是正确的，那么就存在一个在振幅和方向上与温度各向异性场精确相关的极化场。原则上，对这种极化场的精确测量提供了对结构形成的初始条件的直接探测，就像对温度各向异性的精确测量一样。Polatron是一个辐射热测量接收器，将测量100 GHz的CMB偏振。该仪器用于欧文斯谷射电天文台的5.5米望远镜。＊＊＊