Observation of Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization with BICEP

• Main Authors: Chiang, Cynthia, Ade, Peter A. R., Barkats, D., Battle, J. O., Bierman, E. M., Bock, J. J., Dowell, C. D., Duband, L., Griffin, G. S., Hivon, E. F., Holzapfel, W. L., Hristov, V. V., Keating, B. G., Kovac, J. M., Kuo, C., Lange, A. E., Leitch, E. M., Mason, P. M., Nguyen, H. T., Ponthieu, N., Richter, S., Takahashi, Y. D., Yoon, K.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: QB Astronomy; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/35738/; http://www.abstractsonline.com/viewer/SearchResults.asp

Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP) is a bolometric polarimeter that has been observing the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the South Pole since January 2006. BICEP has been optimized to target the B-mode of the CMB polarization at degree angular scales, which is a sensitive probe of the energy scale of Inflation, and will also measure the polarization E-mode with high precision. The instrument's focal plane comprises 49 pairs of polarization-sensitive bolometers operating at 100 and 150 GHz, and the 25-cm aperture refractive optics provide degree-scale resolution over a 17-degree instantaneous field of view. The compact design enables exquisite control of instrumental polarization systematics. We report on the performance of the BICEP instrument and observations of the CMB and Galactic foreground emission from the first two seasons of operation. BICEP is funded by NSF/Office of Polar Programs, Caltech, JPL, and the estate of J. Robinson.