CLOVER: The CMB polarization observer

• Main Authors: Maffei B., Ade P. A. R., Calderon C., Challinor A. D., De Bernardis P., Dunlop L., Gear W. K., Giraud-Heraud Y., Goldie D. J., Grainge K. J. B., Isaak K. G., Johnson B., Jones M. E., Lasenby A. N., Mauskopf P. D., Melhuish S. J., Orlando A., Piccirillo L., Pisano G., Taylor A. C., Withington S., Yassin G.
• Other Authors: Maffei, B., Ade, P. A. R., Calderon, C., Challinor, A. D., De Bernardis, P., Dunlop, L., Gear, W. K., Giraud-Heraud, Y., Goldie, D. J., Grainge, K. J. B., Isaak, K. G., Johnson, B., Jones, M. E., Lasenby, A. N., Mauskopf, P. D., Melhuish, S. J., Orlando, A., Piccirillo, L., Pisano, G., Taylor, A. C., Withington, S., Yassin, G.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Cosmic Microwave Background radiation; B-Modes; Instrumentation; Polarimetry; Millimetre waves; Microwave receivers; Polarization; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11573/1585918; https://doi.org/10.1051/eas:2005039

We present a new, fully-funded ground-based instrument designed to measure the B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The concept is based on three independent sub-systems operating at 90, 150 and 220 GHz, each comprising a telescope and a focal plane of horn-coupled background-limited bolometers. This highly-sensitive experiment, planned to be based at Dome C station in Antarctica, is optimised to produce very low systematic effects. It will allow the detection of the CMB polarization over angular multipoles 20 < l < 1000 accurately enough to measure the B-mode signature from gravitational waves to a lensing-confusion-limited tensor-to-scalar ratio r ∼ 0.005. © EAS, EDP Sciences 2005.