The Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC): A Mission Concept Study for NASA's Einstein Inflation Probe

TL;DR

The EPIC mission concept aims to measure primordial gravitational waves and inflationary signals with high precision, addressing key technical challenges and proposing a flexible mission architecture for NASA.

Contribution

This study provides a detailed feasibility analysis and design considerations for the EPIC mission to probe inflationary cosmology.

Findings

Foreground subtraction can be achieved with planned instrumentation.

Systematic errors can be controlled within mission requirements.

A 2-meter aperture design balances sensitivity and feasibility.

Abstract

This is the Phase 1 Report on the Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC), a mission concept study for NASA's Einstein Inflation Probe. When we began our study we sought to answer five fundamental implementation questions: 1) can foregrounds be measured and subtracted to a sufficiently low level?; 2) can systematic errors be controlled?; 3) can we develop optics with sufficiently large throughput, low polarization, and frequency coverage from 30 to 300 GHz?; 4) is there a technical path to realizing the sensitivity and systematic error requirements?; and 5) what are the specific mission architecture parameters, including cost? Detailed answers to these questions are contained in this report. Currently in Phase 2, we are exploring a mission concept targeting a ~2m aperture, in between the two options described in the current report with a small (~30 cm) and large (~4m) missions.