The next-generation BLASTPol experiment

TL;DR

BLAST-TNG is an advanced submillimeter telescope designed to study magnetic fields in star formation, featuring a larger mirror, more detectors, and improved resolution to bridge existing observational gaps.

Contribution

The paper introduces the design and specifications of BLAST-TNG, a next-generation balloon-borne telescope with significant improvements over BLASTPol, including larger mirror and enhanced detector arrays.

Findings

Design and specifications of BLAST-TNG presented

Expected 16-fold increase in mapping speed

Enhanced resolution bridges Planck and ALMA observations

Abstract

The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry (BLASTPol) is a suborbital mapping experiment designed to study the role magnetic fields play in star formation. BLASTPol has had two science flights from McMurdo Station, Antarctica in 2010 and 2012. These flights have produced thousands of polarization vectors at 250, 350 and 500 microns in several molecular cloud targets. We present the design, specifications, and progress towards the next-generation BLASTPol experiment (BLAST-TNG). BLAST-TNG will fly a 40% larger diameter primary mirror, with almost 8 times the number of polarization-sensitive detectors resulting in a factor of 16 increase in mapping speed. With a spatial resolution of 22 arcseconds and four times the field of view of BLASTPol, BLAST-TNG will bridge the angular scales between Planck's low resolution all-sky maps and ALMA's ultra-high resolution narrow fields. The new receiver has a larger cryogenics volume, allowing for a 28 day hold time. BLAST-TNG employs three arrays of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) with 30% fractional bandwidth at 250, 350 and 500 microns. In this paper, we will present the new BLAST-TNG instrument and science objectives.