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Effects of the mechanical performance and alignment of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope on the sensitivity of microwave observations. Burger, Bryce; Hasselfield, Matthew; Halpern, Mark; Amiri, Mandana
Abstract
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a six meter, off-axis Gregorian telescope for measuring the cosmic microwave background at arcminute resolutions. The Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC) is its current science instrument. Erected in the Atacama Desert of Chile in early 2007, it saw first light with the MBAC on 22 October 2007. In this paper we review its performance after one month of observing, focusing in particular on issues surrounding the alignment of the optical system that impact the sensitivity of the experiment. We discuss the telescope motion, pointing, and susceptibility to thermal distortions. We describe the mirror alignment procedure, which has yielded surface deviations of 31 μm rms on the primary and 10 μm rms on the secondary. Observations of planets show that the optical performance is consistent with the telescope design parameters. Preliminary analysis measures a solid angle of about 215 nanosteradians with a full width at half maximum of 1.44 arcminutes at 145 GHz. Copyright 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited
Item Metadata
Title |
Effects of the mechanical performance and alignment of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope on the sensitivity of microwave observations.
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Creator | |
Publisher |
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
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Date Issued |
2008
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Description |
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a six meter, off-axis Gregorian telescope for measuring the cosmic microwave background at arcminute resolutions. The Millimeter
Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC) is its current science instrument. Erected in the Atacama Desert of Chile in early 2007, it saw first light with the MBAC on 22
October 2007. In this paper we review its performance after one month of observing, focusing in particular on issues surrounding the alignment of the optical
system that impact the sensitivity of the experiment. We discuss the telescope motion, pointing, and susceptibility to thermal distortions. We describe the
mirror alignment procedure, which has yielded surface deviations of 31 μm rms on the primary and 10 μm rms on the secondary. Observations of planets show
that the optical performance is consistent with the telescope design parameters. Preliminary analysis measures a solid angle of about 215 nanosteradians
with a full width at half maximum of 1.44 arcminutes at 145 GHz.
Copyright 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution,
duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2011-09-13
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0107587
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Citation |
Hincks, Adam D.; Ade, Peter A. R.; Allen, C.; Amiri, Mandana; Appel, John W.; Battistelli, Elia S.; Burger, Bryce; Chervenak, James A.; Dahlen, Alex J.; Denny, S.; Devlin, Mark J.; Dicker, Simon R.; Doriese, William B.; Dünner, Rolando; Thomas M. Essinger-Hileman, Fisher, Ryan P.; Fowler, Joseph W.; Halpern, Mark; Hargrave, Peter C.; Hasselfield, Matthew; Hilton, Gene C.; Irwin, Kent D.; Jarosik, Norman C.; Kaul, Madhuri; Klein, Jeffery; Lau, Judy M.; Limon, Michele; Lupton, Robert H.; Marriage, Tobias A.; Martocci, Krista L.; Mauskopf, Philip D.; Moseley, S. Harvey; Netterfield, C. Barth; Niemack, Michael D.; Nolta, Michael R.; Page, Lyman A.; Parker, Lucas P.; Audrey J. Sederberg Staggs, Suzanne T.; Stryzak, Omelan R.; Swetz, Daniel S.; Switzer, Eric R.; Thornton, Robert J.; Tucker, Carole E.; Wollack, Edward J.; Zhao, Yue. Effects of the mechanical performance and alignment of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope on the sensitivity of microwave observations. Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, edited by William D. Duncan, Wayne S. Holland, Stafford Withington, Jonas Zmuidzinas Proceedings of SPIE Volume 7020, 70201P, 2008.
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Publisher DOI |
10.1117/12.790020
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Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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Copyright Holder |
Halpern, Mark
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International