Absolute reference for microwave polarization experiments -- The COSMOCal project and its proof of concept

Abstract

The cosmic microwave background (CMB), a remnant of the Big Bang, provides unparalleled insights into the primordial universe, its energy content, and the origin of cosmic structures. The success of forthcoming terrestrial and space experiments hinges on meticulously calibrated data. Specifically, the ability to achieve an absolute calibration of the polarization angles with a precision of < 0.1 deg is crucial to identify the signatures of primordial gravitational waves and cosmic birefringence within the CMB polarization. We introduce the COSMOCal project, designed to deploy a polarized source in space for calibrating microwave frequency observations. The project aims to integrate microwave polarization observations from small and large telescopes, ground-based and in space, into a unified scale, enhancing the effectiveness of each observatory and allowing robust combination of data. To demonstrate the feasibility and confirm the observational approach of our project, we developed a prototype instrument that operates in the atmospheric window centered at 260 GHz, specifically tailored for use with the NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30 m telescope. We present the instrument components and their laboratory characterization. The results of tests performed with the fully assembled prototype using a KIDs-based instrument, similar concept of NIKA2, are also reported. This study paves the way for an observing campaign using the IRAM 30m telescope and contributes to the development of a space-based instrument.

13 pages, 13 figures. Published

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• SPT-3G D1: CMB temperature and polarization power spectra and cosmology from 2019 and 2020 observations of the SPT-3G Main field
• Modeling parity-violating spectra in Galactic dust polarization with filaments and its applications to cosmic birefringence searches
• On beam characterization of ground-based CMB radio telescopes using UAV-mounted sources: application to the QUIJOTE TFGI and plans for LSPE-Strip
• Forecasts of constraining isotropic cosmic birefringence on AliCPT-1
• High-precision polarization measurements with Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors