The Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER): A Sounding Rocket Payload to Study the Near Infrared Extragalactic Background Light

TL;DR

CIBER is a sounding rocket payload with four instruments designed to measure the near infrared extragalactic background light and foreground emissions, providing insights into cosmological structures and the epoch of reionization.

Contribution

This paper details the design, characterization, and flight profile of CIBER, a novel instrument suite for studying the near IR background from above Earth's atmosphere.

Findings

All four instruments performed as expected during the second flight.

CIBER's design allows for recoverable and repeatable measurements.

Data from the second flight is currently under analysis.

Abstract

The Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER) is a suite of four instruments designed to study the near infrared (IR) background light from above the Earth's atmosphere. The instrument package comprises two imaging telescopes designed to characterize spatial anisotropy in the extragalactic IR background caused by cosmological structure during the epoch of reionization, a low resolution spectrometer to measure the absolute spectrum of the extragalactic IR background, and a narrow band spectrometer optimized to measure the absolute brightness of the Zodiacal light foreground. In this paper we describe the design and characterization of the CIBER payload. The detailed mechanical, cryogenic, and electrical design of the system are presented, including all system components common to the four instruments. We present the methods and equipment used to characterize the instruments before and after flight, and give a detailed description of CIBER's flight profile and configurations. CIBER is designed to be recoverable and has flown twice, with modifications to the payload having been informed by analysis of the first flight data. All four instruments performed to specifications during the second flight, and the scientific data from this flight are currently being analyzed.