QUEST on DASI: a South Pole CMB polarization experiment
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The QUEST on DASI experiment
We are building a ground-based polarization experiment called QUEST (Q U Extra-galactic Survey Telescope) on DASI (the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer). In late 2004, the existing DASI receivers and feedhorns will be removed and replaced with a bolometric receiver mounted on a 2.6 m Cassegrain telescope. First light is expected in early 2005. QUEST on DASI is intended not only to provide detailed measurements of the E-mode power spectrum, but also to measure the B-mode power spectrum from
Instrument specifications and design philosophy
The specifications of QUEST on DASI are listed in Table 1, Table 2. They include a large field of view and a large number of pixels to achieve the high instantaneous sensitivity required to permit fast mapping of large areas of sky (the instantaneous sensitivity at 150 GHz is similar to that expected for the Planck satellite). The angular resolution of the experiment has been chosen to give a cutoff in ℓ-space of about 2500, in order to span the expected peak in both the E-mode signal, and the B
Observational strategy and predicted results
We expect to operate QUEST on DASI for at least two years beginning in early 2005. Observations will be continuous over the polar winter. The experiment has been designed (based on the experience of DASI and re-using much of the existing control system) for both remote and automatic operation, and will only require the attention of one full-time person on site over the Polar winter.
At the South Pole the sky only moves in azimuth relative to the ground and so the same region can be observed
Acknowledgements
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants 9987360 and 0096778, by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council in the UK, and by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.
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