The balloon-borne large-aperture submillimeter telescope for polarimetry: BLAST-Pol

Abstract

The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry (BLAST-Pol) is a suborbital mapping experiment designed to study the role played by magnetic fields in the star formation process. BLAST-Pol is the reconstructed BLAST telescope, with the addition of linear polarization capability. Using a 1.8 m Cassegrain telescope, BLAST-Pol images the sky onto a focal plane that consists of 280 bolometric detectors in three arrays, observing simultaneously at 250, 350, and 500 um. The diffraction-limited optical system provides a resolution of 30'' at 250 um. The polarimeter consists of photolithographic polarizing grids mounted in front of each bolometer/detector array. A rotating 4 K achromatic half-wave plate provides additional polarization modulation. With its unprecedented mapping speed and resolution, BLAST-Pol will produce three-color polarization maps for a large number of molecular clouds. The instrument provides a much needed bridge in spatial coverage between larger-scale, coarse resolution surveys and narrow field of view, and high resolution observations of substructure within molecular cloud cores. The first science flight will be from McMurdo Station, Antarctica in December 2010.

14 pages, 9 figures Submitted to SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation Conference 2010

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Cited by in corpus (19)

• Review: Far-Infrared Instrumentation and Technology Development for the Next Decade
• Polarization measurements analysis I. Impact of the full covariance matrix on polarization fraction and angle measurements
• Astronomy in Antarctica
• The Next Generation BLAST Experiment
• Dust polarization and ISM turbulence
• The Link between Magnetic Fields and Cloud/Star Formation
• 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
• A cryogenic waveplate rotator for polarimetry at mm and sub-mm wavelengths
• Probing the cold magnetized Universe with SPICA-POL (B-BOP)
• Tracing magnetic field morphology using the Velocity Gradient Technique in the presence of CO self-absorption
• Instrumental performance and results from testing of the BLAST-TNG receiver, submillimeter optics, and MKID arrays
• Pointing control for the SPIDER balloon-borne telescope
• The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry-BLASTPol: Performance and results from the 2012 Antarctic flight
• Thermal design and performance of the balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope for polarimetry BLASTPol
• Pointing System for the Balloon-Borne Astronomical Payloads
• SuperBIT Superpressure Flight Instrument Overview and Performance: Near diffraction-limited Astronomical Imaging from the Stratosphere
• Performance of the polarization leakage correction in the PILOT data
• Interstellar filament detection and characterization: methods and implications for studies of magnetized interstellar medium