Research Infrastructure: MRI: Development of a Small Aperture Telescope Pathfinder to Advance Studies of the Polarized Cosmic Microwave Background

研究基础设施：MRI：开发小口径望远镜探路者，推进偏振宇宙微波背景研究

• 批准号: 2216223
• 负责人: Scott Paine
• 金额: $ 96.27万
• 依托单位: Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2216223&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Infrastructure; MRI; Development; Small

This Major Research Instrumentation project will help answer the big question: “how did the universe begin?” It does so by building and testing a sensitive instrument that would measure electromagnetic emission that fills space as a result of processes in the early universe. This emission is best measured at microwave wavelengths, so it is referred to as the cosmic microwave background (CMB). A small protype instrument, referred to as pSAT, will be built to evaluate many of the technologies that have been developed for a future, large experiment to measure the CMB far more precisely. The members of this research team will engage with educators and the public on observing/measuring the origins of the universe. Within the larger CMB experiment program, this project will provide research experience for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as training for postdoctoral researchers.Finding direct evidence for cosmic inflation is an important goal in astronomy and physics today. Inflation models predict the existence of primordial gravitational waves, which impart a unique “B-mode” pattern to the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and provide a key test of such models. There have been an improving series of instruments to make the needed measurements. This project will develop and test pSAT, a CMB polarimeter integrating detectors and optics developed for the next-generation CMB-S4 project with existing field-proven BICEP Array hardware. pSAT will utilize new 95 GHz/155 GHz dual-band dual-polarization prototype detectors, with prototype optics incorporating wide-band AR coatings, in a BICEP array receiver cryostat that will be adapted to include a 100mK adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. The engineering, performance evaluation, and representative data will be provided to the CMB-S4 project.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这个重大研究仪器项目将有助于回答一个大问题：“宇宙是如何开始的？”它通过建造和测试一种敏感仪器来测量早期宇宙过程中充满空间的电磁发射。在微波波长下测量，因此被称为宇宙微波背景（CMB） 一种小型原型仪器（称为 pSAT）将用于评估为未来大型实验测量而开发的许多技术。中巴远更准确地说，该研究团队的成员将与教育工作者和公众一起观察/测量宇宙的起源，该项目将为研究生和本科生提供研究经验，并为他们提供培训。博士后研究人员。寻找宇宙暴胀的直接证据是当今天文学和物理学的一个重要目标。暴胀模型预测了原始引力波的存在，它为宇宙微波的极化赋予了独特的“B 模式”模式。该项目将开发和测试 pSAT，这是一种为下一代 CMB 开发的集成探测器和光学器件的 CMB 旋光计。 S4 项目采用现有经过现场验证的 BICEP 阵列硬件，将采用新型 95 GHz/155 GHz 双频段双偏振原型探测器，其原型光学器件采用宽带 AR 涂层。 BICEP 阵列接收器低温恒温器将适应包括 100mK 绝热退磁制冷机。工程、性能评估和代表性数据将提供给 CMB-S4 项目。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过评估被认为值得支持。利用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准。