BICEP2. II. Experiment and three-year data set
| Title: | BICEP2. II. Experiment and three-year data set |
| Author: |
Ade, P. A. R.; Aikin, R. W.; Amiri, M.; Barkats, Denis A.; Benton, S. J.; Bischoff, Colin A.; Bock, J. J.; Brevik, J. A.; Buder, I.; Bullock, E.; Davis, G.; Day, P. K.; Dowell, C. D.; Duband, L.; Filippini, J. P.; Fliescher, S.; Golwala, S. R.; Halpern, M.; Hasselfield, M.; Hildebrandt, S. R.; Hilton, G. C.; Irwin, K. D.; Karkare, Kirit Sukrit; Kaufman, J. P.; Keating, B. G.; Kernasovskiy, S. A.; Kovac, John M; Kuo, C. L.; Leitch, E. M.; Llombart, N.; Lueker, M.; Netterfield, C. B.; Nguyen, H. T.; O, R.; Ogburn, R. W.; Orlando, Abigail Claire; Pryke, C; Reintsema, C. D.; Richter, S.; Schwarz, R.; Sheehy, C. D.; Staniszewski, Z. K.; Story, K. T.; Sudiwala, R. V.; Teply, G. P.; Tolan, J. E.; Turner, A. D.; Vieregg, A. G.; Wilson, P.; Wong, C; Yoon, K. W.
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. |
| Citation: | Ade, P. A. R., R. W. Aikin, M. Amiri, D. Barkats, S. J. Benton, C. A. Bischoff, J. J. Bock, et al. 2014. “BICEP2. II. Experiment and three-year data set.” The Astrophysical Journal 792 (1) (August 14): 62. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/792/1/62. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
Ade_2014_ApJ_792_62.pdf (3.195Mb; PDF) 
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| Abstract: | We report on the design and performance of the BICEP2 instrument and on its three-year data set. BICEP2 was designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on angular scales of 1°-5°(l = 40-200), near the expected peak of the B-mode polarization signature of primordial gravitational waves from cosmic inflation. Measuring B-modes requires dramatic improvements in sensitivity combined with exquisite control of systematics. The BICEP2 telescope observed from the South Pole with a 26 cm aperture and cold, on-axis, refractive optics. BICEP2 also adopted a new detector design in which beam-defining slot antenna arrays couple to transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers, all fabricated on a common substrate. The antenna-coupled TES detectors supported scalable fabrication and multiplexed readout that allowed BICEP2 to achieve a high detector count of 500 bolometers at 150 GHz, giving unprecedented sensitivity to B-modes at degree angular scales. After optimization of detector and readout parameters, BICEP2 achieved an instrument noise-equivalent temperature of 15.8 μ {K}\sqrt{{s}}. The full data set reached Stokes Q and U map depths of 87.2 nK in square-degree pixels (5.'2 μK) over an effective area of 384 deg2 within a 1000 deg2 field. These are the deepest CMB polarization maps at degree angular scales to date. The power spectrum analysis presented in a companion paper has resulted in a significant detection of B-mode polarization at degree scales. |
| Published Version: | doi:10.1088/0004-637X/792/1/62 |
| Other Sources: | https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.4302 |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:30353759 |
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