CMB polarimetry with BICEP: instrument characterization, calibration, and performance

TL;DR

BICEP is a ground-based bolometric array that measures CMB polarization at degree scales, focusing on primordial gravitational waves, with detailed instrument calibration and performance analysis over its first two years.

Contribution

This paper presents comprehensive instrument characterization, calibration procedures, and performance evaluation for BICEP's measurements of CMB polarization.

Findings

Achieved unprecedented sensitivity at 100 and 150 GHz

Controlled systematic errors through rigorous calibration

Provided constraints on polarized foregrounds

Abstract

BICEP is a ground-based millimeter-wave bolometric array designed to target the primordial gravity wave signature on the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at degree angular scales. Currently in its third year of operation at the South Pole, BICEP is measuring the CMB polarization with unprecedented sensitivity at 100 and 150 GHz in the cleanest available 2% of the sky, as well as deriving independent constraints on the diffuse polarized foregrounds with select observations on and off the Galactic plane. Instrument calibrations are discussed in the context of rigorous control of systematic errors, and the performance during the first two years of the experiment is reviewed.