Receiver development for BICEP Array, a next-generation CMB polarimeter at the South Pole

• Published in: Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X
• Main Authors: Moncelsi, L., Ade, P.A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Basu Thakur, R., Bischoff, C.A., Bock, J.J., Buza, V., Cheshire, J., Connors, J., Cornelison, J., Crumrine, M., Cukierman, A., Denison, E.V., Dierickx, M., Duband, L., Eiben, M., Fatigoni, S., Filippini, J.P., Goeckner-Wald, N., Goldfinger, D.C., Grayson, J., Grimes, P., Hall, G., Halpern, M., Harrison, S., Henderson, S., Hildebrandt, S.R., Hilton, G.C., Hubmayr, J., Hui, H., Irwin, K.D., Kang, J., Karkare, K.S., Kefeli, S., Kovac, J.M., Kuo, C.L., LAU, K., Leitch, E.M., Megerian, K.G., Minutolo, L., Nakato, Y., Namikawa, T., Nguyen, H.T., O'Brient, R., Palladino, S., Precup, N., Prouve, T., Pryke, C.
• Other Authors: Département des Systèmes Basses Températures (DSBT ), Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire de Grenoble (IRIG), Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Cosmic Microwave Background; polarization; Instrumentation; Cosmology; B-Modes; Inflation; lensing; synchrotron; beam: polarization; gravitation: lens; BICEP; cosmic background radiation; detector: calibration; detector: sensitivity; detector: performance; readout; galaxy; B-mode; optics; detector: cryogenics; cosmic background radiation: polarization; [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-INS-DET]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Instrumentation and Detectors [physics.ins-det]; [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Curl; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03143663; https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561995

International audience A detection of curl-type (B-mode) polarization of the primary CMB would be direct evidence for the inflationary paradigm of the origin of the Universe. The Bicep/Keck Array (BK) program targets the degree angular scales, where the power from primordial B-mode polarization is expected to peak, with ever-increasing sensitivity and has published the most stringent constraints on inflation to date. Bicep Array (BA) is the Stage-3 instrument of the BK program and will comprise four Bicep3-class receivers observing at 30/40, 95, 150 and 220/270 GHz with a combined 32,000+ detectors; such wide frequency coverage is necessary for control of the Galactic foregrounds, which also produce degree-scale B-mode signal. The 30/40 GHz receiver is designed to constrain the synchrotron foreground and has begun observing at the South Pole in early 2020. By the end of a 3-year observing campaign, the full Bicep Array instrument is projected to reach σ r between 0.002 and 0.004, depending on foreground complexity and degree of removal of B-modes due to gravitational lensing (delensing). This paper presents an overview of the design, measured on-sky performance and calibration of the first BA receiver. We also give a preview of the added complexity in the time-domain multiplexed readout of the 7,776-detector 150 GHz receiver.