Better Characterizing the Time-Varying Microwave Environment on Cerro Toco

对宇宙微波背景的调查试图回答宇宙学和粒子物理学中悬而未决的问题。这包括研究暴胀的本质和中微子的性质。即将问世的仪器将在广泛的微波频率范围内绘制出精确的天空温度和偏振图。然而，这些日益敏感的仪器容易受到附近微波发射源的干扰。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这样的调查。这将有助于使这些调查的科学产出最大化。首席研究员还将把这项工作的各个方面纳入基于课程的本科生研究。这些研究经历将影响新墨西哥大学的广大受众。这项工作将开发小型仪器和分析工具，以便更好地监测Cerro Toco上和上面的时变微波环境，在目前的POLARBEAR/Simons阵列CMB实验现场。这些工具和数据集将有助于更好地理解和可能增加可实现的灵敏度和测量面积，为即将到来的超宽调查宇宙微波背景极化测量，将由西蒙斯天文台和CMB-S4在同一地点进行。这项工作包括使用来自目前的北极星/西蒙斯阵列仪器的低层数据来详细描述大气，包括北极星-1观测到的对流层冰云的发生，以产生极化微波辐射。通过开发用于监测、测量和预测Cerro Toco小气候和微波环境的小型仪器，这一独特的数据集将得到加强，并用于了解未来条件的指标。本项目由天文科学部ATI计划和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

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.