Polarization calibration of the BICEP3 CMB polarimeter at the South Pole

J. Cornelison, P. A.R. Ade, Z. Ahmed, M. Amiri, D. Barkats, R. Basu Thakur, C. Bischoff, J. J. Bock, H. Boenish, E. Bullock, V. Buza, J. R. Cheshire, J. Connors, M. Crumrine, A. J. Cukierman, E. V. Denison, M. Dierickx, L. Duband, M. Eiben, S. FatigoniJ. P. Filippini, S. Fliescher, N. Goeckner-Wald, D. C. Goldfinger, J. A. Grayson, P. Grimes, G. Hall, G. Halal, M. Halpern, S. A. Harrison, S. Henderson, S. Hildebrandt, G. C. Hilton, J. Hubmayr, H. Hui, K. D. Irwin, J. Kang, K. Karkare, E. Karpel, S. Kefeli, S. A. Kernasovkiy, J. M. Kovac, C. L. Kuo, K. Lau, E. Leitch, K. G. Megerian, L. Minutolo, L. Moncelsi, Y. Nakato, T. Namikawa, H. T. Nguyen, R. O'Brient, R. W. Ogburn, S. Palladino, N. Precup, T. Prouve, C. Pryke, B. Racine, C. D. Reintsema, S. Richter, A. Schillaci, B. Schmitt, R. Schwarz, C. D. Sheehy, A. Soliman, T. St. Germaine, B. Steinbach, R. V. Sudiwala, G. P. Teply, K. L. Thompson, J. E. Tolan, C. Tucker, A. D. Turner, C. Umilta, A. G. Vieregg, A. Wandui, A. C. Weber, D. V. Wiebe, J. Willmert, C. L. Wong, W. L.K. Wu, E. Yang, K. W. Yoon, E. Young, C. Yu, L. Zeng, C. Zhang, S. Zhang

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The BICEP3 CMB Polarimeter is a small-Aperture refracting telescope located at the South Pole and is specifically designed to search for the possible signature of inflationary gravitational waves in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The experiment measures polarization on the sky by differencing the signal of co-located, orthogonally polarized antennas coupled to Transition Edge Sensor (TES) detectors. We present precise measurements of the absolute polarization response angles and polarization efficiencies for nearly all of BICEP3's ∼800 functioning polarization-sensitive detector pairs from calibration data taken in January 2018. Using a Rotating Polarized Source (RPS), we mapped polarization response for each detector over a full 360 degrees of source rotation and at multiple telescope boresight rotations from which per-pair polarization properties were estimated. In future work, these results will be used to constrain signals predicted by exotic physical models such as Cosmic Birefringence.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationMillimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X
EditorsJonas Zmuidzinas, Jian-Rong Gao
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Electronic)9781510636934
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
EventMillimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X 2020 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: Dec 14 2020Dec 22 2020

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume11453
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceMillimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period12/14/2012/22/20

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Keywords

  • Calibration
  • Cosmic Microwave Background
  • Polarization

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Polarization calibration of the BICEP3 CMB polarimeter at the South Pole'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this