MRI: Development of 350 GHz instrumentation to characterize Galactic dust polarization with CCAT-prime

该项目旨在为智利的弗雷德·杨亚毫米望远镜（FYST）建造一台新仪器，该望远镜是CCAT-prime项目的一部分。 正在开发的仪器将安装在FYST上，以测量波长为0.9毫米（350 GHz）的光。这些测量将帮助天文学家了解银河系中尘埃和磁场的性质。更好地了解银河系将有助于研究人员从前景中移除这些信号，以研究早期宇宙中更遥远的光。将这些结果与其他数据相结合，将有助于理解宇宙大爆炸后不久的宇宙演化。计划为来自代表性不足的背景和社区学院的学生提供新的研究机会。FYST的新仪器将使CCAT-prime项目能够进行350 GHz极化测量。它将位于一个仪器舱内，该仪器舱包括三个动态电感探测器阵列，并将提供第一批极化敏感测量数据，超过普朗克卫星使命目前最好的350千兆赫数据。这将是迄今为止最大规模的KID部署之一，这将有助于推动这项重要技术在未来的应用。仪器模块将部署在智利Cerro Chajnantor海拔18，400英尺的6米孔径FYST上的Prime-Cam接收器低温恒温器中。改进的350 GHz偏振测量对于推进我们对银河系尘埃参数、磁场特性和星星形成的分子云的理解是重要的。这些银河系前景源的不确定性限制了原始引力波振幅的限制。改进对银河系前景的测量有可能减少未来对早期宇宙膨胀的约束的偏差。在CCAT-prime项目的第一个光接收器中开发和部署拟议的仪器将为培训年轻研究人员提供机会，并从地球上最好的亚毫米站点之一进行令人兴奋的天体物理测量。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。

This project looks to build a new instrument for the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) in Chile that is part of the CCAT-prime project. The instrument being developed will be installed on FYST to measure light at a wavelength of 0.9 millimeters (350 GHz). The measurements will help astronomers learn about properties of dust and magnetic fields in the Milky Way galaxy. Understanding the Milky Way better will help researchers remove those signals from the foreground to study more distant light from the early Universe. Combining these results with other data will help understand the evolution of the Universe soon after the Big Bang. New research opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds and from community colleges are planned.The new instrument for FYST will enable 350 GHz polarization measurements with the CCAT-prime project. It will be within an instrument module that includes three arrays of kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) and will provide the first polarization-sensitive measurements to exceed the current best 350 GHz data from the Planck satellite mission. This will be one of the largest scale deployments of KIDs yet, which will help advance this important technology for future applications. The instrument module will be deployed in the Prime-Cam receiver cryostat on the six-meter aperture FYST at an elevation of 18,400 feet on Cerro Chajnantor in Chile. Improved 350 GHz polarization measurements are important for advancing our understanding of Galactic dust parameters, magnetic field properties, and molecular clouds where star formation occurs. Uncertainties in these Galactic foreground sources limit constraints on the amplitude of primordial gravitational waves. Improving measurements of galactic foregrounds has the potential to reduce bias in future constraints on early Universe inflation. Developing and deploying the proposed instrumentation in a first light receiver for the CCAT-prime project will provide opportunities for training young researchers and lead to exciting astrophysical measurements from one of the best sub-millimeter sites on earth.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.