Status of QUBIC, the Q&U Bolometer for Cosmology

TL;DR

QUBIC is a novel polarimeter combining interferometry and bolometric detectors to measure the CMB B-mode polarization, addressing key observational challenges in cosmology.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach that merges interferometry's systematic control with bolometric sensitivity for improved CMB polarization measurements.

Findings

Design of QUBIC addresses instrumental systematic effects.

QUBIC's multichroic observations help mitigate astrophysical foregrounds.

Potential for enhanced detection of primordial B-modes.

Abstract

The Q&U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) is a novel kind of polarimeter optimized for the measurement of the B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Back-ground (CMB), which is one of the major challenges of observational cosmology. The signal is expected to be of the order of a few tens of nK, prone to instrumental systematic effects and polluted by various astrophysical foregrounds which can only be controlled through multichroic observations. QUBIC is designed to address these observational issues with a novel approach that combines the advantages of interferometry in terms of control of instrumental systematics with those of bolometric detectors in terms of wide-band, background-limited sensitivity.