Modeling dielectric half-wave plates for cosmic microwave background polarimetry using a Mueller matrix formalism

Abstract

We derive an analytic formula using the Mueller matrix formalism that parameterizes the nonidealities of a half-wave plate (HWP) made from dielectric antireflection-coated birefringent slabs. This model accounts for frequency-dependent effects at normal incidence, including effects driven by the reflections at dielectric boundaries. The model also may be used to guide the characterization of an instrument that uses a HWP. We discuss the coupling of a HWP to different source spectra, and the potential impact of that effect on foreground removal for the SPIDER cosmic microwave background experiment. We also describe a way to use this model in a mapmaking algorithm that fully corrects for HWP nonidealities.

11 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Applied Optics

References in corpus (7)

• CMBPol Mission Concept Study: Probing Inflation with CMB Polarization
• Systematic errors in cosmic microwave background polarization measurements
• SPIDER: A Balloon-borne Large-scale CMB Polarimeter
• Spider Optimization: Probing the Systematics of a Large Scale B-Mode Experiment
• Modeling and characterization of the SPIDER half-wave plate
• CMBPol Mission Concept Study: Reionization Science with the Cosmic Microwave Background
• The EBEX Cryostat and Supporting Electronics

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• A New Limit on CMB Circular Polarization from SPIDER
• Empirical modelling of the BLASTPol achromatic half-wave plate for precision submillimetre polarimetry
• A cryogenic rotation stage with a large clear aperture for the half-wave plates in the Spider instrument
• Pre-flight integration and characterization of the SPIDER balloon-borne telescope
• Transfer matrix for treating stratified media including birefringent crystals
• Discovery prospects with the Dark-photons & Axion-Like particles Interferometer
• Framework for analysis of next generation, polarised CMB data sets in the presence of galactic foregrounds and systematic effects
• A Translational Polarization Rotator
• Probing frequency-dependent half-wave plate systematics for CMB experiments with full-sky beam convolution simulations
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• Spider Optimization II: Optical, Magnetic and Foreground Effects
• QUBIC VI: cryogenic half wave plate rotator, design and performances
• The Impact of the Spectral Response of an Achromatic Half-Wave Plate on the Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization
• Systematic effects induced by Half Wave Plate precession into Cosmic Microwave Background polarization measurements
• Half-wave Plates for the Spider Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimeter
• Studies of Systematic Uncertainties for Simons Observatory: Polarization Modulator Related Effects
• Modeling optical systematics for the Taurus CMB experiment
• A measurement of atmospheric circular polarization with POLARBEAR
• Multi-Octave Metamaterial Reflective Half-Wave Plate for Millimetre and Sub-Millimetre wave Applications