RESUMO
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) B-modes detection is the main focus of future CMB experiments because of the valuable information it contains, particularly to probe the physics of the very early universe. For this reason, we have developed an optimized polarimeter demonstrator sensitive to the 10-20 GHz band in which the signal received by each antenna is modulated into a Near Infrared (NIR) laser by a Mach-Zehnder modulator. Then, these modulated signals are optically correlated and detected using photonic back-end modules consisting of voltage-controlled phase shifters, a 90-degree optical hybrid, a pair of lenses, and an NIR camera. During laboratory tests, a 1/f-like noise signal related to the low phase stability of the demonstrator has been found experimentally. To solve this issue, we have developed a calibration method that allows us to remove this noise in an actual experiment, until obtaining the required accuracy level in the measurement of polarization.
RESUMO
This paper presents a polarization calibration method applied to a microwave polarimeter demonstrator based on a near-infrared (NIR) frequency up-conversion stage that allows both optical correlation and signal detection at a wavelength of 1550 nm. The instrument was designed to measure the polarization of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation from the sky, obtaining the Stokes parameters of the incoming signal simultaneously, in a frequency range from 10 to 20 GHz. A linearly polarized input signal with a variable polarization angle is used as excitation in the polarimeter calibration setup mounted in the laboratory. The polarimeter systematic errors can be corrected with the proposed calibration procedure, achieving high levels of polarization efficiency (low polarization percentage errors) and low polarization angle errors. The calibration method is based on the fitting of polarization errors by means of sinusoidal functions composed of additive or multiplicative terms. The accuracy of the fitting increases with the number of terms in such a way that the typical error levels required in low-frequency CMB experiments can be achieved with only a few terms in the fitting functions. On the other hand, assuming that the calibration signal is known with the required accuracy, additional terms can be calculated to reach the error levels needed in ultrasensitive B-mode polarization CMB experiments.
RESUMO
In this work, the use of a calibration satellite (L2-CalSat) flying in formation with a Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization mission in an orbit located at the second Lagrange point, is proposed. The new generation of CMB telescopes are expected to reach unprecedented levels of sensitivity to allow a very precise measurement of the B-mode of polarization, the curl-like polarization component expected from gravitational waves coming from Starobinski inflationary models. Due to the CMB polarized signal weakness, the instruments must be subjected to very precise calibration processes before and after launching. Celestial sources are often used as external references for calibration after launch, but these sources are not perfectly characterized. As a baseline option, L2-CalSat is based on the CubeSat standard and serves as a perfectly known source of a reference signal to reduce polarization measurements uncertainty. A preliminary design of L2-CalSat is described and, according to the scanning strategy followed by the telescope, the influence of the relative position between the spacecrafts in the calibration process is studied. This new calibration element will have a huge impact on the performance of CMB space missions, providing a significant improvement in the measurements accuracy without requiring new and costly technological developments.
