QUBIC: A fizeau interferometer targeting primordial B-modes

• Published in: Journal of Low Temperature Physics
• Main Authors: Tartari, A., Aumont, J., Banfi, S., Battaglia, P., Battistelli, E. S., Bau, A., Belier, B., Bennett, D., Berge, L., Bernard, J. Ph., Bersanelli, M., Bigot-Sazy, M. A., Bleurvacq, N., Bordier, G., Brossard, J., Bunn, E. F., Buzi, D., Cammilleri, D., Cavaliere, F., Chanial, P., Chapron, C., Coppolecchia, A., D'Alessandro, G., De Bernardis, P., Decourcelle, T., Del Torto, F., De Petris, M., Dumoulin, L., Franceschet, C., Gault, A., Gayer, D., Gervasi, M., Ghribi, A., Giard, M., Giraud-Heraud, Y., Gradziel, M., Grandsire, L., Hamilton, J. Ch., Haynes, V., Holtzer, N., Kaplan, J., Korotkov, A., Lande, J., Lowitz, A., Maffei, B., Marnieros, S., Martino, J., Masi, S., McCulloch, M., Melhuish, S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Springer 2016
• Subjects: QB Astronomy; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/94226/; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1398-3

Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) is a Fizeau interferometer sensitive to linear polarisation, to be deployed at the Antarctic station of Dome C. This experiment in its final configuration will be operated at 97, 150 and 220 GHz and is intended to target CMB primordial B-modes in a multipole window 20<ℓ<15020<ℓ<150. A sensitivity of r=0.05r=0.05 (95 % CL) can be reached by the first module alone, after 2 years of operation. Here we review in particular its working principles, and we show how the QUBIC interferometric configuration can be considered equivalent to a pupil-plane filtered imaging system. In this context, we show how our instrument can be self-calibrated. Finally, we conclude by showing an overview of the first dual-band module (150/220 GHz), which will serve also as a demonstrator for the subsequent units, and review the technological choices we made for each subsystem, with particular emphasis on the detection system.