SPIDER: Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter

A. A. Fraisse; P. A.R. Ade; M. Amiri; S. J. Benton; J. J. Bock; J. R. Bond; J. A. Bonetti; S. Bryan; B. Burger; H. C. Chiang; C. N. Clark; C. R. Contaldi; B. P. Crill; G. Davis; O. Doré; M. Farhang; J. P. Filippini; L. M. Fissel; N. N. Gandilo; S. Golwala; J. E. Gudmundsson; M. Hasselfield; G. Hilton; W. Holmes; V. V. Hristov; K. Irwin; W. C. Jones; C. L. Kuo; C. J. MacTavish; P. V. Mason; T. E. Montroy; T. A. Morford; C. B. Netterfield; D. T. O'Dea; A. S. Rahlin; C. Reintsema; J. E. Ruhl; M. C. Runyan; M. A. Schenker; J. A. Shariff; J. D. Soler; A. Trangsrud; C. Tucker; R. S. Tucker; A. D. Turner; D. Wiebe

doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047

SPIDER: Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter

A. A. Fraisse, P. A.R. Ade, M. Amiri, S. J. Benton, J. J. Bock, J. R. Bond, J. A. Bonetti, S. Bryan, B. Burger, H. C. Chiang, C. N. Clark, C. R. Contaldi, B. P. Crill, G. Davis, O. Doré, M. Farhang, J. P. Filippini, L. M. Fissel, N. N. Gandilo, S. GolwalaJ. E. Gudmundsson, M. Hasselfield, G. Hilton, W. Holmes, V. V. Hristov, K. Irwin, W. C. Jones, C. L. Kuo, C. J. MacTavish, P. V. Mason, T. E. Montroy, T. A. Morford, C. B. Netterfield, D. T. O'Dea, A. S. Rahlin, C. Reintsema, J. E. Ruhl, M. C. Runyan, M. A. Schenker, J. A. Shariff, J. D. Soler, A. Trangsrud, C. Tucker, R. S. Tucker, A. D. Turner, D. Wiebe

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60 Scopus citations

Abstract

We evaluate the ability of SPIDER, a balloon-borne polarimeter, to detect a divergence-free polarization pattern (B-modes) in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the inflationary scenario, the amplitude of this signal is proportional to that of the primordial scalar perturbations through the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We show that the expected level of systematic error in the SPIDER instrument is significantly below the amplitude of an interesting cosmological signal with r = 0.03. We present a scanning strategy that enables us to minimize uncertainty in the reconstruction of the Stokes parameters used to characterize the CMB, while accessing a relatively wide range of angular scales. Evaluating the amplitude of the polarized Galactic emission in the SPIDER field, we conclude that the polarized emission from interstellar dust is as bright or brighter than the cosmological signal at all SPIDER frequencies (90 GHz, 150 GHz, and 280 GHz), a situation similar to that found in the "Southern Hole." We show that two ∼ 20-day flights of the SPIDER instrument can constrain the amplitude of the B-mode signal to r < 0.03 (99% CL) even when foreground contamination is taken into account. In the absence of foregrounds, the same limit can be reached after one 20-day flight.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	047
Journal	Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Volume	2013
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047
State	Published - Apr 2013
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

CMBR experiments
CMBR polarization
inflation
physics of the early universe

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics

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10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047

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Fraisse, A. A., Ade, P. A. R., Amiri, M., Benton, S. J., Bock, J. J., Bond, J. R., Bonetti, J. A., Bryan, S., Burger, B., Chiang, H. C., Clark, C. N., Contaldi, C. R., Crill, B. P., Davis, G., Doré, O., Farhang, M., Filippini, J. P., Fissel, L. M., Gandilo, N. N., ... Wiebe, D. (2013). SPIDER: Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2013(4), Article 047. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047

Fraisse, AA, Ade, PAR, Amiri, M, Benton, SJ, Bock, JJ, Bond, JR, Bonetti, JA, Bryan, S, Burger, B, Chiang, HC, Clark, CN, Contaldi, CR, Crill, BP, Davis, G, Doré, O, Farhang, M, Filippini, JP, Fissel, LM, Gandilo, NN, Golwala, S, Gudmundsson, JE, Hasselfield, M, Hilton, G, Holmes, W, Hristov, VV, Irwin, K, Jones, WC, Kuo, CL, MacTavish, CJ, Mason, PV, Montroy, TE, Morford, TA, Netterfield, CB, O'Dea, DT, Rahlin, AS, Reintsema, C, Ruhl, JE, Runyan, MC, Schenker, MA, Shariff, JA, Soler, JD, Trangsrud, A, Tucker, C, Tucker, RS, Turner, AD & Wiebe, D 2013, 'SPIDER: Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter', Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, vol. 2013, no. 4, 047. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047

@article{cdccc2f1cd7a4007ad7ba059e47a692e,

title = "SPIDER: Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter",

abstract = "We evaluate the ability of SPIDER, a balloon-borne polarimeter, to detect a divergence-free polarization pattern (B-modes) in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the inflationary scenario, the amplitude of this signal is proportional to that of the primordial scalar perturbations through the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We show that the expected level of systematic error in the SPIDER instrument is significantly below the amplitude of an interesting cosmological signal with r = 0.03. We present a scanning strategy that enables us to minimize uncertainty in the reconstruction of the Stokes parameters used to characterize the CMB, while accessing a relatively wide range of angular scales. Evaluating the amplitude of the polarized Galactic emission in the SPIDER field, we conclude that the polarized emission from interstellar dust is as bright or brighter than the cosmological signal at all SPIDER frequencies (90 GHz, 150 GHz, and 280 GHz), a situation similar to that found in the {"}Southern Hole.{"} We show that two ∼ 20-day flights of the SPIDER instrument can constrain the amplitude of the B-mode signal to r < 0.03 (99% CL) even when foreground contamination is taken into account. In the absence of foregrounds, the same limit can be reached after one 20-day flight.",

keywords = "CMBR experiments, CMBR polarization, inflation, physics of the early universe",

author = "Fraisse, {A. A.} and Ade, {P. A.R.} and M. Amiri and Benton, {S. J.} and Bock, {J. J.} and Bond, {J. R.} and Bonetti, {J. A.} and S. Bryan and B. Burger and Chiang, {H. C.} and Clark, {C. N.} and Contaldi, {C. R.} and Crill, {B. P.} and G. Davis and O. Dor{\'e} and M. Farhang and Filippini, {J. P.} and Fissel, {L. M.} and Gandilo, {N. N.} and S. Golwala and Gudmundsson, {J. E.} and M. Hasselfield and G. Hilton and W. Holmes and Hristov, {V. V.} and K. Irwin and Jones, {W. C.} and Kuo, {C. L.} and MacTavish, {C. J.} and Mason, {P. V.} and Montroy, {T. E.} and Morford, {T. A.} and Netterfield, {C. B.} and O'Dea, {D. T.} and Rahlin, {A. S.} and C. Reintsema and Ruhl, {J. E.} and Runyan, {M. C.} and Schenker, {M. A.} and Shariff, {J. A.} and Soler, {J. D.} and A. Trangsrud and C. Tucker and Tucker, {R. S.} and Turner, {A. D.} and D. Wiebe",

year = "2013",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "2013",

journal = "Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics",

issn = "1475-7516",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "4",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - SPIDER

T2 - Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter

AU - Fraisse, A. A.

AU - Ade, P. A.R.

AU - Amiri, M.

AU - Benton, S. J.

AU - Bock, J. J.

AU - Bond, J. R.

AU - Bonetti, J. A.

AU - Bryan, S.

AU - Burger, B.

AU - Chiang, H. C.

AU - Clark, C. N.

AU - Contaldi, C. R.

AU - Crill, B. P.

AU - Davis, G.

AU - Doré, O.

AU - Farhang, M.

AU - Filippini, J. P.

AU - Fissel, L. M.

AU - Gandilo, N. N.

AU - Golwala, S.

AU - Gudmundsson, J. E.

AU - Hasselfield, M.

AU - Hilton, G.

AU - Holmes, W.

AU - Hristov, V. V.

AU - Irwin, K.

AU - Jones, W. C.

AU - Kuo, C. L.

AU - MacTavish, C. J.

AU - Mason, P. V.

AU - Montroy, T. E.

AU - Morford, T. A.

AU - Netterfield, C. B.

AU - O'Dea, D. T.

AU - Rahlin, A. S.

AU - Reintsema, C.

AU - Ruhl, J. E.

AU - Runyan, M. C.

AU - Schenker, M. A.

AU - Shariff, J. A.

AU - Soler, J. D.

AU - Trangsrud, A.

AU - Tucker, C.

AU - Tucker, R. S.

AU - Turner, A. D.

AU - Wiebe, D.

PY - 2013/4

Y1 - 2013/4

N2 - We evaluate the ability of SPIDER, a balloon-borne polarimeter, to detect a divergence-free polarization pattern (B-modes) in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the inflationary scenario, the amplitude of this signal is proportional to that of the primordial scalar perturbations through the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We show that the expected level of systematic error in the SPIDER instrument is significantly below the amplitude of an interesting cosmological signal with r = 0.03. We present a scanning strategy that enables us to minimize uncertainty in the reconstruction of the Stokes parameters used to characterize the CMB, while accessing a relatively wide range of angular scales. Evaluating the amplitude of the polarized Galactic emission in the SPIDER field, we conclude that the polarized emission from interstellar dust is as bright or brighter than the cosmological signal at all SPIDER frequencies (90 GHz, 150 GHz, and 280 GHz), a situation similar to that found in the "Southern Hole." We show that two ∼ 20-day flights of the SPIDER instrument can constrain the amplitude of the B-mode signal to r < 0.03 (99% CL) even when foreground contamination is taken into account. In the absence of foregrounds, the same limit can be reached after one 20-day flight.

AB - We evaluate the ability of SPIDER, a balloon-borne polarimeter, to detect a divergence-free polarization pattern (B-modes) in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the inflationary scenario, the amplitude of this signal is proportional to that of the primordial scalar perturbations through the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We show that the expected level of systematic error in the SPIDER instrument is significantly below the amplitude of an interesting cosmological signal with r = 0.03. We present a scanning strategy that enables us to minimize uncertainty in the reconstruction of the Stokes parameters used to characterize the CMB, while accessing a relatively wide range of angular scales. Evaluating the amplitude of the polarized Galactic emission in the SPIDER field, we conclude that the polarized emission from interstellar dust is as bright or brighter than the cosmological signal at all SPIDER frequencies (90 GHz, 150 GHz, and 280 GHz), a situation similar to that found in the "Southern Hole." We show that two ∼ 20-day flights of the SPIDER instrument can constrain the amplitude of the B-mode signal to r < 0.03 (99% CL) even when foreground contamination is taken into account. In the absence of foregrounds, the same limit can be reached after one 20-day flight.

KW - CMBR experiments

KW - CMBR polarization

KW - inflation

KW - physics of the early universe

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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84877989858&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047

DO - 10.1088/1475-7516/2013/04/047

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84877989858

SN - 1475-7516

VL - 2013

JO - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

JF - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

IS - 4

M1 - 047

ER -

SPIDER: Probing the early Universe with a suborbital polarimeter

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