Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2011-06-15
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
14 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables
Scientific paper
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.
Ade Peter A. R.
Amiri Mandana
Benton Steven J.
Bock James Joseph
Bond Richard J.
No associations
LandOfFree
SPIDER: Probing the Early Universe with a Suborbital Polarimeter does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with SPIDER: Probing the Early Universe with a Suborbital Polarimeter, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and SPIDER: Probing the Early Universe with a Suborbital Polarimeter will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-188800