Characterization and Removal of Galactic Dust Foreground from Measurements of the Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

该提案寻求资金，以开始一项研究工作，从美国宇航局资助的南极长期卫星（LDB）收集的数据中描述和提取银河尘埃排放？E和B实验？（EBEX）。一个关于宇宙起源和演化的主要宇宙学范式假设了大爆炸后不久的暴胀时期。暴胀在宇宙中产生了原始引力波，在宇宙微波背景辐射（CMB）的偏振上留下了一个独特的签名，称为“B模式信号”。这个信号非常微弱，大约100微开尔文或更小，并且天体物理前景，如银河尘埃和同步辐射的偏振发射，淹没了大部分天空中的暴胀信号。如果B模式信号强于当前理论上限的1/10，则EBEX气球有效载荷将具有检测B模式信号的灵敏度。气球观测将在150和410 GHz之间的频带进行。这一波段的高端无法从地面到达;因此，EBEX可以提供有关银河系尘埃排放特性的宝贵信息。这一信息对于所有寻找通货膨胀信号的CMB实验都是至关重要的。EBEX目前正在等待2010/2011年夏季从南极洲起飞。所申请的资金将用于支持一名博士后研究员和一名研究生从事从EBEX数据中定性和提取银河尘埃前景的工作。

The proposal seeks funding to begin a research effort on characterizing and extracting galactic dust emissions from the data that will be collected by the NASA-funded Antarctic Long Duration Balloon-borne (LDB) ?E and B Experiment? (EBEX). A leading cosmological paradigm for the beginning and evolution of the Universe posits a period of Inflation shortly after the Big Bang. Inflation generated primordial gravitational waves in the Universe that imprinted a distinct signature called the "B-mode signal" on the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. This signal is extremely weak, around 100 microKelvins or smaller, and astrophysical foregrounds such as polarized emission from galactic dust and synchrotron radiation swamp the Inflationary signal over most of the sky. The EBEX balloon payload will have the sensitivity to detect the B-mode signal if it is stronger than 1/10 of the current theoretical upper limit. The balloon observations will be carried out in frequency bands between 150 and 410 GHz. The higher end of this band is not accessible from the ground; thus, EBEX can provide valuable information on the properties of galactic dust emissions. This information is critical for all the CMB experiments searching for the Inflationary signal. EBEX is currently awaiting its flight from Antarctica in the austral summer of 2010/2011. The requested funds will be used to support a post-doctoral fellow and a graduate student to work on the characterization and extraction of galactic dust foregrounds from the EBEX data.