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

提出了一种独特的灵敏宽带双频毫米波偏振计的研制方案。班尼特（约翰霍普金斯大学）的主要目的是从宇宙的第一时刻探测引力波。旋光仪将被用来回答一些基本问题，如“宇宙是如何开始的？”“在宇宙学中，暴胀是标准模型的基石，旋光仪数据将大大提高暴胀能级的极限或发现。在物理学中，探测到特定的偏振模式就是探测到引力波。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标度范围内进行。拟议的偏振计使用二向色探测器，在130-165 GHz和200-234 GHz同时工作。这些波段都为宇宙学大角尺度探测器（CLASS）阵列提供了对偏振CMB的额外灵敏度，并作为灵敏的探测器来识别和隔离偏振的银河尘埃辐射。当与较低频率的CLASS仪器结合使用时，原始硬件投资的科学影响被大大放大。 CLASS的能力因其对10度角标度的敏感性而突出。 CLASS将从智利北方的阿塔卡马（Atacama）观测70%的天空，与其他北方和南半球天文台观测的天空区域重叠，并实现来自多个天文台的多波段数据，这在过去被证明是非常有用的。由于所有CLASS数据都将公开，它们将对整个社区具有遗产价值。用于研究早期宇宙膨胀和引力波的双频偏振计的开发资金由NSF的天文科学部通过参与重大研究仪器计划提供。

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.