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Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE). Halpern, Mark; Hinshaw, Gary
Abstract
The Primordial Inflation Explorer is an Explorer-class mission to measure the gravity-wave signature of primordial inflation through its distinctive imprint on the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background. PIXIE uses an innovative optical design to achieve background-limited sensitivity in 400 spectral channels spanning 2.5 decades in frequency from 30 GHz to 6 THz (1 cm to 50 μm wavelength). Multi-moded non-imaging optics feed a polarizing Fourier Transform Spectrometer to produce a set of interference fringes, proportional to the difference spectrum between orthogonal linear polarizations from the two input beams. The differential design and multiple signal modulations spanning 11 orders of magnitude in time combine to reduce the instrumental signature and confusion from unpolarized sources to negligible levels. PIXIE will map the full sky in Stokes I, Q, and U parameters with angular resolution 2.°6 and sensitivity 0.2 μK per 1° square pixel. The principal science goal is the detection and characterization of linear polarization from an inflationary epoch in the early universe, with tensor-to-scalar ratio r < 10-3 at 5 standard deviations. We describe the PIXIE instrument and mission architecture needed to detect the signature of an inflationary epoch in the early universe using only 4 semiconductor bolometers. Copyright 2011 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 |
Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE).
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Creator | |
Publisher |
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
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Date Issued |
2011
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Description |
The Primordial Inflation Explorer is an Explorer-class mission to measure the gravity-wave signature of primordial inflation through its distinctive
imprint on the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background. PIXIE uses an innovative optical design to achieve background-limited sensitivity
in 400 spectral channels spanning 2.5 decades in frequency from 30 GHz to 6 THz (1 cm to 50 μm wavelength). Multi-moded non-imaging optics feed a polarizing
Fourier Transform Spectrometer to produce a set of interference fringes, proportional to the difference spectrum between orthogonal linear polarizations from
the two input beams. The differential design and multiple signal modulations spanning 11 orders of magnitude in time combine to reduce the instrumental signature
and confusion from unpolarized sources to negligible levels. PIXIE will map the full sky in Stokes I, Q, and U parameters with angular resolution 2.°6 and
sensitivity 0.2 μK per 1° square pixel. The principal science goal is the detection and characterization of linear polarization from an inflationary epoch
in the early universe, with tensor-to-scalar ratio r < 10-3 at 5 standard deviations. We describe the PIXIE instrument and mission architecture needed to
detect the signature of an inflationary epoch in the early universe using only 4 semiconductor bolometers.
Copyright 2011 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 |
2011-09-30
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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 |
10.14288/1.0107624
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Citation |
Kogut, Alan J.; Chuss, David, T.; Dotson, Jessie L.; Fixsen, Dale J.; Halpern, Mark; Hinshaw, Gary F. F.; Meyer, Stephan M.; Moseley, S. Harvey; Seiffert, Michael D.; Spergel, David N.; Wollack, Edward J. Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE). UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes and Instruments: Innovative Technologies and Concepts V, edited by Howard A. MacEwen, James B. Breckinridge . Proceedings of SPIE Volume 8146, 81460T, 2011.
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Publisher DOI |
10.1117/12.892558
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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 Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International