The BISOU (Balloon Interferometer for Spectral Observations of the Universe) project studies the viability and prospects of a balloon-borne spectrometer, pathfinder of a future space mission dedicated to the measurements of the CMB spectral distortions, while consolidating the instrumental concept and improving the readiness of some of its key sub-systems. A balloon concept based on a Fourier Transform Spectrometer, covering a spectral range from about 90 GHz to 2 THz, adapted from previous mission proposals such as PIXIE and FOSSIL, is being studied and modelled. Taking into account the requirements and conditions of balloon flights (i.e. residual atmosphere, observation strategy for instance), we present here the instrument concept together with the results of the CNES phase 0 study, evaluating the sensitivity to some of its potential observables. For instance, we forecast a detection of the CMB Compton y-distortion monopole with a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 5.
QUBIC (Q and U bolometric interferometer for cosmology) is an international ground-based experiment dedicated to the measurement of the polarized fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). It is based on bolometric interferometry, an original detection technique which combines the immunity to systematic effects of an interferometer with the sensitivity of low temperature incoherent detectors. QUBIC will be deployed in Argentina, at the Alto Chorrillos mountain site near San Antonio de los Cobres, in the Salta province. The QUBIC detection chain consists of 2048 NbSi transition edge sensors (TESs) cooled to 320 mK. The voltage-biased TESs are read out with time domain multiplexing based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) at 1 K and a novel SiGe application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) at 60 K allowing an unprecedented multiplexing (MUX) factor equal to 128 to be reached. The current QUBIC version is based on a reduced number of detectors (1/4) in order to validate the detection technique. The QUBIC experiment is currently being validated in the lab in Salta (Argentina) before going to the site for observations. This paper presents the main results of the characterization phase with a focus on the detectors and readout system.
BISOU (Balloon Interferometer for Spectral Observations of the Universe) is a CNES phase zero study investigating the feasibility of observing spectral distortion in the CMB signal using a balloon-borne spectrometer, which also will act as a pathfinder for a future space mission dedicated to the measurements of the CMB spectral distortions. The CMB frequency spectrum is an important probe of the cosmological model. In this paper, we describe the optical layout and outline the initial optical analysis of the signal path and the reference beam path. The major challenge outlined is the inclusion of the required optical train in a confined volume of the cryostat. We include a multimoded description of the optical response of the system from the multimoded pyramidal horn through the optical path containing mirrors and wire grids and predict beam patterns on the sky.
QUBIC (a Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) is a next generation cosmology experiment designed to detect the B-mode polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). A B-mode detection is hard evidence of Inflation in the ΛCDM model. QUBIC aims to accomplish this by combining novel technologies to achieve the sensitivity required to detect the faint B-mode signal. QUBIC uses technologies such as a rotating half-wave plate, cryogenics, interferometric horns with self-calibration switches and transition edge sensor bolometers. A Technical Demonstrator (TD) is currently being calibrated in APC in Paris before observations in Argentina in 2021. As part of the calibration campaign, the spectral response of the TD is measured to test and validate QUBIC's spectro-imaging capability. This poster gives an overview of the methods used to measure the spectral response and a comparison of the instrument data with theoretical predictions and optical simulations.
The Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) Technical Demonstrator (TD) aiming to shows the feasibility of the combination of interferometry and bolometric detection. The electronic readout system is based on an array of 128 NbSi Transition Edge Sensors cooled at 350mK readout with 128 SQUIDs at 1K controlled and amplified by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit at 40K. This readout design allows a 128:1 Time Domain Multiplexing. We report the design and the performance of the detection chain in this paper. The technological demonstrator unwent a campaign of test in the lab. Evaluation of the QUBIC bolometers and readout electronics includes the measurement of I-V curves, time constant and the Noise Equivalent Power. Currently the mean Noise Equivalent Power is ~ 2 x 10-16W= p √Hz
QUBIC, the Q & U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology, is a novel ground-based instrument that has been designed to measure the extremely faint B-mode polarisation anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background at intermediate angular scales (multipoles of 𝑙 = 30 − 200). Primordial B-modes are a key prediction of Inflation as they can only be produced by gravitational waves in the very early universe. To achieve this goal, QUBIC will use bolometric interferometry, a technique that combines the sensitivity of an imager with the systematic error control of an interferometer. It will directly observe the sky through an array of 400 back-to-back entry horns whose signals will be superimposed using a quasi-optical beam combiner. The resulting interference fringes will be imaged at 150 and 220 GHz on two focal planes, each tiled with NbSi Transition Edge Sensors, cooled to 320 mK and read out with time-domain multiplexing. A dichroic filter placed between the optical combiner and the focal planes will select the two frequency bands. A very large receiver cryostat will cool the optical and detector stages to 40 K, 4 K, 1 K and 320 mK using two pulse tube coolers, a novel 4He sorption cooler and a double-stage 3He/4He sorption cooler. Polarisation modulation and selection will be achieved using a cold stepped half-wave plate (HWP) and polariser, respectively, in front of the sky-facing horns. A key feature of QUBIC’s ability to control systematic effects is its ‘self-calibration’ mode where fringe patterns from individual equivalent baselines can be compared. When observing, however, all the horns will be open simultaneously and we will recover a synthetic image of the sky in the I, Q and U Stokes’ parameters. The synthesised beam pattern has a central peak of approximately 0.5 degrees in width, with secondary peaks further out that are damped by the 13-degree primary beam of the horns. This is Module 1 of QUBIC which will be installed in Argentina, near the city of San Antonio de los Cobres, at the Alto Chorrillos site (4869 m a.s.l.), Salta Province. Simulations have shown that this first module could constrain the tensor-to-scalar ratio down to σ(r) = 0.01 after a two-year survey. We aim to add further modules in the future to increase the angular sensitivity and resolution of the instrument. The QUBIC project is proceeding through a sequence of steps. After an initial successful characterisation of the detection chain, a technological demonstrator is being assembled to validate the full instrument design and to test it electrically, thermally and optically.
The technical demonstrator is a scaled-down version of Module 1 in terms of the number of detectors, input horns and pulse tubes and a reduction in the diameter of the combiner mirrors and filters, but is otherwise similar. The demonstrator will be upgraded to the full module in 2019. In this paper we give an overview of the QUBIC project and instrument.
QUBIC (the Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) is a ground-based experiment which seeks to improve the current constraints on the amplitude of primordial gravitational waves. It exploits the unique technique, among Cosmic Microwave Background experiments, of bolometric interferometry, combining together the sensitivity of bolometric detectors with the control of systematic effects typical of interferometers. QUBIC will perform sky observations in polarization, in two frequency bands centered at 150 and 220 GHz, with two kilo-pixel focal plane arrays of NbSi Transition-Edge Sensors (TES) cooled down to 350 mK. A subset of the QUBIC instrument, the so called QUBIC Technological Demonstrator (TD), with a reduced number of detectors with respect to the full instrument, will be deployed and commissioned before the end of 2018.
The voltage-biased TES are read out with Time Domain Multiplexing and an unprecedented multiplexing (MUX) factor equal to 128. This MUX factor is reached with two-stage multiplexing: a traditional one exploiting Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) at 1K and a novel SiGe Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) at 60 K. The former provides a MUX factor of 32, while the latter provides a further 4. Each TES array is composed of 256 detectors and read out with four modules of 32 SQUIDs and two ASICs. A custom software synchronizes and manages the readout and detector operation, while the TES are sampled at 780 Hz (100kHz/128 MUX rate).
In this work we present the experimental characterization of the QUBIC TES arrays and their multiplexing readout chain, including time constant, critical temperature, and noise properties.
QUBIC, the Q & U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology, is a novel ground-based instrument that aims to measure the extremely faint B-mode polarisation anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background at intermediate angular scales (multipoles of 𝑙 = 30 − 200). Primordial B-modes are a key prediction of Inflation as they can only be produced by gravitational waves in the very early universe. To achieve this goal, QUBIC will use bolometric interferometry, a technique that combines the sensitivity of an imager with the immunity to systematic effects of an interferometer. It will directly observe the sky through an array of back-to-back entry horns whose beams will be superimposed using a cooled quasioptical beam combiner. Images of the resulting interference fringes will be formed on two focal planes, each tiled with transition-edge sensors, cooled down to 320 mK. A dichroic filter placed between the optical combiner and the focal planes will select two frequency bands (centred at 150 GHz and 220 GHz), one frequency per focal plane. Polarization modulation will be achieved using a cold stepped half-wave plate (HWP) and polariser in front of the sky-facing horns.
The full QUBIC instrument is described elsewhere1,2,3,4; in this paper we will concentrate in particular on simulations of the optical combiner (an off-axis Gregorian imager) and the feedhorn array. We model the optical performance of both the QUBIC full module and a scaled-down technological demonstrator which will be used to validate the full instrument design. Optical modelling is carried out using full vector physical optics with a combination of commercial and in-house software. In the high-frequency channel we must be careful to consider the higher-order modes that can be transmitted by the horn array. The instrument window function is used as a measure of performance and we investigate the effect of, for example, alignment and manufacturing tolerances, truncation by optical components and off-axis aberrations. We also report on laboratory tests carried on the QUBIC technological demonstrator in advance of deployment to the observing site in Argentina.
QUBIC, the QU Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology, is a novel forthcoming instrument to measure the B-mode polarization anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The detection of the B-mode signal will be extremely challenging; QUBIC has been designed to address this with a novel approach, namely bolometric interferometry. The receiver cryostat is exceptionally large and cools complex optical and detector stages to 40 K, 4 K, 1 K and 350 mK using two pulse tube coolers, a novel 4He sorption cooler and a double-stage 3He/4He sorption cooler. We discuss the thermal and mechanical design of the cryostat, modelling and thermal analysis, and laboratory cryogenic testing.
Remnant radiation from the early universe, known as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), has been redshifted and cooled, and today has a blackbody spectrum peaking at millimetre wavelengths. The QUBIC (Q&U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) instrument is designed to map the very faint polaristion structure in the CMB. QUBIC is based on the novel concept of bolometric interferometry in conjunction with synthetic imaging. It will have a large array of input feedhorns, which creates a large number of interferometric baselines.
The beam from each feedhorn is passed through an optical combiner, with an off-axis compensated Gregorian design, to allow the generation of the synthetic image. The optical-combiner will operate in two frequency bands (150 and 220 GHz with 25% and 18.2 % bandwidth respectively) while cryogenically cooled TES bolometers provide the sensitivity required at the image plane.
The QUBIC Technical Demonstrator (TD), a proof of technology instrument that contains 64 input feed-horns, is currently being built and will be installed in the Alto Chorrillos region of Argentina. The plan is then for the full QUBIC instrument (400 feed-horns) to be deployed in Argentina and obtain cosmologically significant results.
In this paper we will examine the output of the manufactered feed-horns in comparison to the nominal design. We will show the results of optical modelling that has been performed in anticipation of alignment and calibration of the TD in Paris, in particular testing the validity of real laboratory environments. We show the output of large calibrator sources (50 ° full width haf max Gaussian beams) and the importance of accurate mirror definitions when modelling large beams. Finally we describe the tolerance on errors of the position and orientation of mirrors in the optical combiner.
Big Bang cosmologies predict that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) contains faint temperature and polarisation
anisotropies imprinted in the early universe. ESA's PLANCK satellite has already measured the temperature
anisotropies1 in exquisite detail; the next ambitious step is to map the primordial polarisation signatures which are
several orders of magnitude lower. Polarisation E-modes have been measured2 but the even-fainter primordial B-modes
have so far eluded detection. Their magnitude is unknown but it is clear that a sensitive telescope with exceptional
control over systematic errors will be required.
QUBIC3 is a ground-based European experiment that aims to exploit the novel concept of bolometric interferometry in
order to measure B-mode polarisation anisotropies in the CMB. Beams from an aperture array of corrugated horns will
be combined to form a synthesised image of the sky Stokes parameters on two focal planes: one at 150 GHz the other at
220 GHz. In this paper we describe recent optical modelling of the QUBIC beam combiner, concentrating on modelling
the instrument point-spread-function and its operation in the 220-GHz band. We show the effects of optical aberrations
and truncation as successive components are added to the beam path. In the case of QUBIC, the aberrations introduced
by off-axis mirrors are the dominant contributor. As the frequency of operation is increased, the aperture horns allow up to five hybrid modes to propagate and we illustrate how the beam pattern changes across the 25% bandwidth. Finally we
describe modifications to the QUBIC optical design to be used in a technical demonstrator, currently being manufactured
for testing in 2016.
P. de Bernardis, S. Aiola, G. Amico, E. Battistelli, A. Coppolecchia, A. Cruciani, A. D' Addabbo, G. D' Alessandro, S. De Gregori, M. De Petris, D. Goldie, R. Gualtieri, V. Haynes, L. Lamagna, B. Maffei, S. Masi, F. Nati, M. Wah Ng, L. Pagano, F. Piacentini, L. Piccirillo, G. Pisano, G. Romeo, M. Salatino, A. Schillaci, E. Tommasi, S. Withington
The balloon-borne LSPE mission is optimized to measure the linear polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background at large angular scales. The Short Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer (SWIPE) is composed of 3 arrays of multi-mode bolometers cooled at 0.3K , with optical components and filters cryogenically cooled below 4K to reduce the background on the detectors. Polarimetry is achieved by means of large rotating half-wave plates and wire-grid polarizers in front of the arrays. The polarization modulator is the first component of the optical chain, reducing significantly the effect of instrumental polarization. In SWIPE we trade angular resolution for sensitivity. The diameter of the entrance pupil of the refractive telescope is 45 cm, while the field optics is optimized to collect tens of modes for each detector, thus boosting the absorbed power. This approach results in a FWHM resolution of 1.8, 1.5, 1.2 degrees at 95, 145, 245 GHz respectively. The expected performance of the three channels is limited by photon noise, resulting in a final sensitivity around 0.1-0.2 μK per beam, for a 13 days survey covering 25% of the sky.
S. Aiola, G. Amico, P. Battaglia, E. Battistelli, A. Baù, P. de Bernardis, M. Bersanelli, A. Boscaleri, F. Cavaliere, A. Coppolecchia, A. Cruciani, F. Cuttaia, A. D' Addabbo, G. D' Alessandro, S. De Gregori, F. Del Torto, M. De Petris, L. Fiorineschi, C. Franceschet, E. Franceschi, M. Gervasi, D. Goldie, A. Gregorio, V. Haynes, N. Krachmalnicoff, L. Lamagna, B. Maffei, D. Maino, S. Masi, A. Mennella, G. Morgante, F. Nati, M. W. Ng, L. Pagano, A. Passerini, O. Peverini, F. Piacentini, L. Piccirillo, G. Pisano, S. Ricciardi, P. Rissone, G. Romeo, M. Salatino, M. Sandri, A. Schillaci, L. Stringhetti, A. Tartari, R. Tascone, L. Terenzi, M. Tomasi, E. Tommasi, F. Villa, G. Virone, S. Withington, A. Zacchei, M. Zannoni
The LSPE is a balloon-borne mission aimed at measuring the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
at large angular scales, and in particular to constrain the curl component of CMB polarization (B-modes) produced by
tensor perturbations generated during cosmic inflation, in the very early universe. Its primary target is to improve the
limit on the ratio of tensor to scalar perturbations amplitudes down to r = 0.03, at 99.7% confidence. A second target is
to produce wide maps of foreground polarization generated in our Galaxy by synchrotron emission and interstellar dust
emission. These will be important to map Galactic magnetic fields and to study the properties of ionized gas and of
diffuse interstellar dust in our Galaxy. The mission is optimized for large angular scales, with coarse angular resolution
(around 1.5 degrees FWHM), and wide sky coverage (25% of the sky). The payload will fly in a circumpolar long
duration balloon mission during the polar night. Using the Earth as a giant solar shield, the instrument will spin in
azimuth, observing a large fraction of the northern sky. The payload will host two instruments. An array of coherent
polarimeters using cryogenic HEMT amplifiers will survey the sky at 43 and 90 GHz. An array of bolometric
polarimeters, using large throughput multi-mode bolometers and rotating Half Wave Plates (HWP), will survey the same
sky region in three bands at 95, 145 and 245 GHz. The wide frequency coverage will allow optimal control of the
polarized foregrounds, with comparable angular resolution at all frequencies.
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is designed to measure temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at arcminute resolution. It is the first CMB experiment to employ a 32×32 close-packed array of free-space-coupled transition-edge superconducting bolometers. We describe the organization of the telescope systems and software for autonomous, scheduled operations. When paired with real-time data streaming and display, we are able to operate the telescope at the remote site in the Chilean Altiplano via the Internet from North America. The telescope had a data rate of 70 GB/day in the 2007 season, and the 2008 upgrade to three arrays will bring this to 210 GB/day.
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a six meter, off-axis Gregorian telescope for measuring the cosmic microwave background at arcminute resolutions. The Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC) is its current science instrument. Erected in the Atacama Desert of Chile in early 2007, it saw first light with the MBAC on 22 October 2007. In this paper we review its performance after one month of observing, focusing in particular on issues surrounding the alignment of the optical system that impact the sensitivity of the experiment. We discuss the telescope motion, pointing, and susceptibility to thermal distortions. We describe the mirror alignment procedure, which has yielded surface deviations of 31 μm rms on the primary and 10 μm rms on the secondary. Observations of planets show that the optical performance is consistent with the telescope design parameters. Preliminary analysis measures a solid angle of about 215 nanosteradians with a full width at half maximum of 1.44 arcminutes at 145 GHz.
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope observes the Cosmic Microwave Background with arcminute resolution
from the Atacama desert in Chile. For the first observing season one array of 32 x 32 Transition Edge
Sensor (TES) bolometers was installed in the primary ACT receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera
(MBAC). In the next season, three independent arrays working at 145, 220 and 280 GHz will be installed in
MBAC. The three bolometer arrays are each coupled to a time-domain multiplexer developed at the National
Institute of Standard and Technology, Boulder, which comprises three stages of superconducting quantum
interference devices (SQUIDs). The arrays and multiplexers are read-out and controlled by the Multi Channel
Electronics (MCE) developed at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
A number of experiments plan to use the MCE as read-out electronics and thus the procedure for tuning the
three stage SQUID system is of general interest. Here we describe the automated array tuning procedures and
algorithms we have developed. During array tuning, the SQUIDs are biased near their critical currents. SQUID
feedback currents and lock points are selected to maximize linearity, dynamic range, and gain of the SQUID
response curves. Our automatic array characterization optimizes the tuning of all three stages of SQUIDs by
selecting over 1100 parameters per array during the first observing season and over 2100 parameters during the
second observing season. We discuss the timing, performance, and reliability of this array tuning procedure
as well as planned and recently implemented improvements.
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) aims to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature
anisotropies on arcminute scales. The primary receiver for ACT is the Millimeter Bolometer Array
Camera (MBAC). The MBAC is comprised of three 32×32 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometer arrays, each
observing the sky with an independent set of band-defining filters. The MBAC arrays will be the largest pop-up
detector arrays fielded, and among the largest TES arrays built. Prior to its assembly into an array and installation
into the MBAC, a column of 32 bolometers is tested at ~ 0.4 K in a quick-turn-around dip probe. In
this paper we describe the properties of the ACT bolometers as revealed by data from those tests, emphasizing
a characterization that accounts for both the complex impedance and the noise as a function of frequency.
The 6-meter Atacama Cosmology Telescope will map the cosmic microwave background at millimeter wavelengths.
The commissioning instrument for the telescope, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera, is based on a
refractive optical system which simultaneously images three separate fields of view at three different frequencies:
145, 220, and 280 GHz. Each frequency band contains around twelve individual optical elements at five different
temperature stages ranging from 300 K to 300 mK and a 32 x 32 array of Transition Edge Sensor bolometers at
300 mK. We discuss the design of the close-packed on-axis optical design of the three frequencies. The thermal
design and performance of the system are presented in the context of the scientific requirements and observing
schedule. A major part of the design was the incorporation of multiple layers of magnetic shielding. We discuss
the performance of the 145 GHz optical system in 2007 and the implementation of the additional two frequency
channels in 2008.
The Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC) was commissioned in the fall of 2007 on the new 6-meter
Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The MBAC on the ACT will map the temperature anisotropies of the
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with arc-minute resolution. For this first observing season, the MBAC
contained a diffraction-limited, 32 by 32 element, focal plane array of Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers
for observations at 145 GHz. This array was coupled to the telescope with a series of cold, refractive, reimaging
optics. To meet the performance specifications, the MBAC employs four stages of cooling using closed-cycle
3He/4He sorption fridge systems in combination with pulse tube coolers. In this paper we present the design of
the instrument and discuss its performance during the first observing season. Finally, we report on the status
of the MBAC for the 2008 observing season, when the instrument will be upgraded to a total of three separate
1024-element arrays at 145 GHz, 220 GHz and 280 GHz.
Spider is a balloon-borne experiment that will measure the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background
over a large fraction of a sky at ~ 1° resolution. Six monochromatic refracting millimeter-wave telescopes with
large arrays of antenna-coupled transition-edge superconducting bolometers will provide system sensitivities of
4.2 and 3.1 μKcmb√s at 100 and 150 GHz, respectively. A rotating half-wave plate will modulate the polarization
sensitivity of each telescope, controlling systematics. Bolometer arrays operating at 225 GHz and 275 GHz will
allow removal of polarized galactic foregrounds. In a 2-6 day first flight from Alice Springs, Australia in 2010,
Spider will map 50% of the sky to a depth necessary to improve our knowledge of the reionization optical depth
by a large factor.
After a short analysis of the main problems involved in the
construction of a Far Infrared polarimeter with very low
instrumental noise, we describe the instrument that will be
employed at MITO telescope to search for calibration sources and
investigate polarization near the CMB anisotropy peaks in the next
campaign (Winter 2002-03).
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