CaltechAUTHORS
Published April 2022 | Version Accepted Version
Journal Article Open

QUBIC III: Laboratory characterization

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory
  • 2. ROR icon Paris Observatory
  • 3. ROR icon Sapienza University of Rome
  • 4. ROR icon INFN Sezione di Roma I
  • 5. ROR icon National University of La Plata
  • 6. ROR icon National Scientific and Technical Research Council
  • 7. ROR icon Bariloche Atomic Centre
  • 8. ROR icon University of Paris-Saclay
  • 9. ROR icon University of Milan
  • 10. ROR icon INFN Sezione di Milano
  • 11. ROR icon National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • 12. ROR icon University of Milano-Bicocca
  • 13. ROR icon Cardiff University
  • 14. ROR icon Centro Científico Tecnológico - Mendoza
  • 15. ROR icon Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology
  • 16. ROR icon University of Oxford
  • 17. ROR icon Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
  • 18. ROR icon University of Richmond
  • 19. ROR icon University of Rome Tor Vergata
  • 20. ROR icon National Institute for Nuclear Physics
  • 21. ROR icon University of Surrey
  • 22. ROR icon Institut de Recherche sur les Lois Fondamentales de l'Univers
  • 23. ROR icon Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
  • 24. ROR icon University of Manchester
  • 25. ROR icon Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
  • 26. ROR icon Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
  • 27. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 28. ROR icon University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • 29. ROR icon Brown University

Abstract

We report on an extensive test campaign of a prototype version of the QUBIC (Q & U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) instrument, carried out at Astroparticle Physics and Cosmology (APC) in Paris. Exploiting the novel concept called bolometric interferometry, QUBIC is designed to measure the CMB polarization at 150 and 220 GHz from a high altitude site at Alto Chorillo, Argentina. The prototype model called QUBIC Technological Demonstrator (QUBIC-TD) operates in a single frequency band (150 GHz) and with a reduced number of baselines, but it contains all the elements of the QUBIC instrument in its final configuration. The test campaign included measurements of the synthesized beam and of the polarization performance, as well as a verification of the interference fringe pattern. A modulated, frequency-tunable millimetre-wave source was placed in the telescope far-field and was used to simulate a point source. The QUBIC-TD field of view was scanned across the source to produce beam maps. Our measurements confirm the frequency-dependent behaviour of the beam profile, which gives QUBIC the possibility to do spectral imaging. The measured polarization performance indicates a cross-polarization leakage less than 0.6%. We also successfully tested the polarization modulation system, which is provided by a rotating half wave plate. We demonstrate the full mapmaking pipeline using data from this measurement campaign, effectively giving an end-to-end checkout of the entire QUBIC system, including all hardware subsystems, their interfaces, and the software to operate the whole system and run the analysis. Our results confirm the viability of bolometric interferometry for measurements of the CMB polarization.

Additional Information

© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab. Received 24 November 2020; Accepted 14 March 2022; Published 21 April 2022. QUBIC is funded by the following agencies. France: ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) 2012 and 2014, DIM-ACAV (Domaine d'Interet Majeur-Astronomie et Conditions d'Apparition de la Vie), CNRS/IN2P3 (Centre national de la recherche scientifique/Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules), CNRS/INSU (Centre national de la recherche scientifique/Institut national et al de sciences de l'univers). Italy: CNR/PNRA (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche/Programma Nazionale Ricerche in Antartide) until 2016, INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) since 2017. Argentina: MINCyT (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación), CNEA (Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica), CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas). D. Burke and J.D. Murphy acknowledge funding from the Irish Research Council under the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme. D. Gayer and S. Scully acknowledge funding from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. D. Bennett acknowledges funding from Science Foundation Ireland.

Attached Files

Accepted Version - 2008.10056.pdf

Files

2008.10056.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
114479
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20220427-436281600

Related works

Describes
https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.10056 (URL)

Funding

Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR)
Domaine d'Interet Majeur-Astronomie et Conditions d'Apparition de la Vie
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules (IN2P3)
Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU)
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)
Programma Nazionale Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación
Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA)
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Irish Research Council
National University of Ireland
Science Foundation, Ireland

Dates

Created
2022-04-27
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2022-04-28
Created from EPrint's last_modified field