Better Characterizing the Time-Varying Microwave Environment on Cerro Toco

更好地表征托科山上随时间变化的微波环境

• 批准号: 2108704
• 负责人: Darcy Barron
• 金额: $ 39.33万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2108704&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Better; Characterizing; Time; Varying; Microwave

Surveys of the cosmic microwave background seek to answer outstanding questions in cosmology and particle physics. This includes investigating the nature of inflation and the properties of neutrinos. Upcoming instruments will create precise maps of the sky in temperature and polarization across a broad range of microwave frequencies. However, these increasingly sensitive instruments are vulnerable to interference from nearby sources of microwave emission. Developing better tools to monitor the microwave environment now will help in planning for the next generation of such surveys. This will help in maximizing the scientific output of these surveys. The principal investigator will also incorporate aspects of this work into course-based undergraduate research. These research experiences will reach a broad audience at the University of New Mexico.This work will develop small-scale instrumentation and analysis tools for better monitoring of the time-varying microwave environment on and above Cerro Toco, at the site of the current POLARBEAR/Simons Array CMB experiment. These tools and datasets will help better understand and possibly increase the achievable sensitivity and survey area for upcoming ultra-wide survey cosmic microwave background polarization measurements that will be made from the same site by Simons Observatory and CMB-S4. This work includes using low-level data from the current POLARBEAR/Simons Array instruments to characterize the atmosphere in detail, including the occurrence of tropospheric ice clouds that were observed by POLARBEAR-1 to create polarized microwave radiation. This unique dataset would be enhanced and used to understand indicators of conditions going forwards by the development of small-scale instrumentation for monitoring, measuring, and predicting the microclimate and microwave environment on Cerro Toco.This project is jointly funded by the ATI program of the Division of Astronomical Sciences and by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

宇宙微波背景辐射的测量试图回答宇宙学和粒子物理学中悬而未决的问题。这包括研究暴胀的性质和中微子的性质。 即将到来的仪器将在广泛的微波频率范围内创建天空温度和偏振的精确地图。然而，这些越来越敏感的仪器容易受到附近微波辐射源的干扰。现在开发更好的工具来监测微波环境将有助于规划下一代此类调查。这将有助于最大限度地提高这些调查的科学产出。 主要研究者还将把这项工作的各个方面纳入以课程为基础的本科研究。这些研究经验将在新墨西哥州大学广泛传播，这项工作将开发小型仪器和分析工具，以便更好地监测目前正在进行POLARBEAR/Simons阵列CMB实验的地点的Cerro Toco及其上空随时间变化的微波环境。这些工具和数据集将有助于更好地理解并可能增加即将到来的超宽调查宇宙微波背景偏振测量的可实现的灵敏度和调查区域，这些测量将由西蒙斯天文台和CMB-S4在同一地点进行。这项工作包括利用目前的北极熊/西蒙斯阵列仪器提供的低层数据详细描述大气的特征，包括北极熊1号观测到的对流层冰云的出现，以产生极化微波辐射。 这一独特的数据集将得到加强，并通过开发小规模监测、测量、该项目由天文科学部的ATI计划和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。