USAP-DC

ANT-0742818, PI: John M. Kovac, California Institute of Technology
ANT-0742592, PI: Clement L. Pryke, University of Chicago
Collaborative Research: BICEP2 and SPUD - A Search for Inflation with Degree-Scale Polarimetry from the South Pole

The proposed work is a four-year program of research activities directed toward upgrading the BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) telescope operating at South Pole since early 2006 to reach far =stretching goals of detection of the Cosmic Gravitational-wave Background (CGB) . This telescope is a first Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) B-mode polarimeter, specifically designed to search for CGB signatures while mapping ~2% of the southern sky that is free of the Milky Way foreground galactic radiation at 100 GH and 150 GHz. The BICEP1 telescope will reach its designed sensitivity by the end of 2008. A coordinated series of upgrades to BICEP1 will provide the increased sensitivity and more exacting control of instrumental effects and potential confusion from galactic foregrounds necessary to search for the B-mode signal more deeply through space. A powerful new 150 GHz receiver, BICEP2, will replace the current detector at the beginning of 2009, increasing the mapping speed almost ten-fold. In 2010, the first of a series of compact, mechanically-cooled receivers (called SPUD - Small Polarimeter Upgrade for DASI) will be deployed on the existing DASI mount and tower, providing similar mapping speed at 100 GHz in parallel with BICEP2. The latter instrument will reach (and exceed with the addition of a SPUD polarimeter) the target sensitivity r = 0.15 set forth by the Interagency (NSF/NASA/DoE) Task Force on CMB Research for a future space mission dedicated to the detection and characterization of primordial gravitational waves. This Task Force has identified detection of the Inflation's gravitational waves as the number one priority for the modern cosmology. More broadly, as the cosmology captures a lot of the public imagination, it is a remarkably effective vehicle for stimulating interest in basic science. The CGB detection would be to Inflation what the discovery of the CMB radiation was to the Big Bang. The project will contribute to the training of the next generation of cosmologists by integrating graduate and undergraduate education with the technology and instrumentation development, astronomical observations and scientific analysis. Sharing of the forefront research results with public extends the new knowledge beyond the universities. This project will be undertaken in collaboration between the California Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago.

Person	Role
Kovac, John	Investigator

Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences

Award # 0742818

NSF-ANT10-44978

None in the Database

Repository	Title (link)	Format(s)	Status
Project website	Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (full data link not provided)	None	exist

1. Zhang, C., Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Thakur, R. B., … Bullock, E. (2020). Characterizing the Sensitivity of 40 GHz TES Bolometers for BICEP Array. Journal of Low Temperature Physics. (doi:10.1007/s10909-020-02411-8)
2. St Germaine, T., Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Basu Thakur, R., … Bullock, E. (2020). Optical Characterization of the Keck Array and BICEP3 CMB Polarimeters from 2016 to 2019. Journal of Low Temperature Physics. (doi:10.1007/s10909-020-02392-8)
3. Soliman, A., Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Thakur, R. B., … Bullock, E. (2020). Optical Design and Characterization of 40-GHz Detector and Module for the BICEP Array. Journal of Low Temperature Physics. (doi:10.1007/s10909-019-02299-z)
4. Schillaci, A., Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Thakur, R. B., … Bullock, E. (2020). Design and Performance of the First BICEP Array Receiver. Journal of Low Temperature Physics. (doi:10.1007/s10909-020-02394-6)
5. Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Aikin, R. W., Alexander, K. D., Barkats, D., Benton, S. J., … Brevik, J. A. (2018). Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves Using Planck , WMAP, and New BICEP2/ Keck Observations through the 2015 Season. Physical Review Letters, 121(22). (doi:10.1103/physrevlett.121.221301)
6. Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Anderson, A. J., Austermann, J. E., Avva, J. S., … Bender, A. N. (2021). A demonstration of improved constraints on primordial gravitational waves with delensing. Physical Review D, 103(2). (doi:10.1103/physrevd.103.022004)
7. Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Basu Thakur, R., Bischoff, C. A., … Buza, V. (2021). BICEP/Keck  XII: Constraints on axionlike polarization oscillations in the cosmic microwave background. Physical Review D, 103(4). (doi:10.1103/physrevd.103.042002)
8. Ade, P. A. R., Aikin, R. W., Barkats, D., Benton, S. J., Bischoff, C. A., … Bock, J. J. (2014). Detection ofB-Mode Polarization at Degree Angular Scales by BICEP2. Physical Review Letters, 112(24). (doi:10.1103/physrevlett.112.241101)
9. Ade, P. A. R., Aghanim, N., Ahmed, Z., Aikin, R. W., Alexander, K. D., Arnaud, M., … Barkats, D. (2015). Joint Analysis of BICEP2/Keck ArrayandPlanckData. Physical Review Letters, 114(10). (doi:10.1103/physrevlett.114.101301)
10. Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Thakur, R. B., Bischoff, C. A., … Bullock, E. (2021). Improved Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves using Planck, WMAP, and BICEP/Keck Observations through the 2018 Observing Season. Physical Review Letters, 127(15). (doi:10.1103/physrevlett.127.151301)
11. Ade, Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Basu Thakur, R., Bischoff, C. A., Beck, D., Bock, J. J., Boenish, H., Bullock, E., Buza, V., Cheshire, J. R., Connors, J., Cornelison, J., Crumrine, M., Cukierman, A., Denison, E. V., Dierickx, M., Duband, L., … Fliescher, S. (2022). BICEP/Keck XIV: Improved constraints on axionlike polarization oscillations in the cosmic microwave background. Physical Review D, 105(2). (doi:10.1103/physrevd.105.022006)
12. Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Thakur, R. B., Bischoff, C. A., Beck, D., Bock, J. J., Boenish, H., Bullock, E., Buza, V., Cheshire IV, J. R., Connors, J., Cornelison, J., Crumrine, M., Cukierman, A., Denison, E. V., Dierickx, M., Duband, L., … Zhang, S. (2022). Bicep/Keck XV: The Bicep3 Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimeter and the First Three-year Data Set. The Astrophysical Journal, 927(1), 77. (doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac4886)
13. Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Thakur, R. B., Bischoff, C. A., Beck, D., Bock, J. J., Boenish, H., Bullock, E., Buza, V., Cheshire, J. R., Clark, S. E., Connors, J., Cornelison, J., Crumrine, M., Cukierman, A., Denison, E. V., Dierickx, M., … Zhang, S. (2023). BICEP/Keck. XVI. Characterizing Dust Polarization through Correlations with Neutral Hydrogen. The Astrophysical Journal, 945(1), 72. (doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acb64c)