MRI: Development of a Sensitive Broadband Dual-Frequency Millimeter-Wavelength Polarimeter

约翰·霍普金斯大学的C.Bennett提出了一种独特的、灵敏的宽带双频毫米波偏振仪，其主要目的是探测来自宇宙一阶矩的引力波。旋光仪将被用来回答一些基本的问题，比如“宇宙是如何开始的？”在宇宙学中，膨胀是标准模型的基石，而旋光仪数据将提供极大改进的膨胀能级的限制或发现。在物理学中，对特定偏振模式的检测将是对引力波的检测。这些测试将使用来自宇宙微波背景(CMB)的信号，在原始引力辐射留下最强印记的整个角度范围内进行。拟议的偏振仪使用二色性探测器在130-165 GHz和200-234 GHz同时工作。这两个波段都为宇宙学大角度尺度探测器(CLASS)阵列提供了对极化的CMB的额外灵敏度，并作为一个敏感的探测器来识别和隔离极化的银河系尘埃排放。当与较低频级的仪器结合时，原有硬件投资的科学影响被大大放大。班级的能力因其对10度角刻度的敏感度而得到突出。在智利北部距离赤道不远的阿塔卡马站点，CLASS将测量70%的天空，与其他北半球和南半球天文台测量的天空区域重叠，并实现来自多个天文台的那种多波段数据，这在过去被证明是非常有用的。由于所有类数据将被公开，它们将对整个社区具有遗产价值。NSF天文科学部通过参与重大研究仪器计划，为研究早期宇宙中的膨胀和引力波的双频偏振仪的开发提供资金。

The development of a unique sensitive broadband dual-frequency millimeter-wavelength polarimeter is proposed by C. Bennett (Johns Hopkins University) for the primary purpose of detecting gravitational waves from the first moments of the universe. The polarimeter will be used to answer fundamental questions such as, "How did the universe begin?" In cosmology, Inflation is the cornerstone of the standard model, and the polarimeter data will provide a greatly improved limit or discovery of the energy level of Inflation. In physics, detection of a specific polarization pattern would be a detection of gravitational waves. These tests will be made using signals from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), over the full range of angular scales on which the primordial gravitational radiation leaves its strongest imprint.The proposed polarimeter uses dichroic detectors to operate simultaneously at 130-165 GHz and 200-234 GHz. These bands both provide extra sensitivity for the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) array to the polarized CMB and serve as a sensitive probe to identify and isolate polarized Galactic dust emission. When combined with the lower frequency CLASS instruments, the scientific impact of the original hardware investment is greatly amplified. The capability of CLASS is accentuated by its sensitivity to angular scales 10 degrees. From its Atacama site in northern Chile, not far from the equator, CLASS will survey 70% of the sky, overlapping the sky areas surveyed by the other northern and southern hemisphere observatories, and enabling the kind of multi-band data from multiple observatories that has proved so useful in the past. As all CLASS data will be made public, they will be of legacy value to the entire community.Funding for the development of the dual-frequency polarimeter for the study of inflation and gravitational waves in the early universe is being provided by NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences through its participation in the Major Research Instrumentation program.