QUBIC: The QU Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology

Context. One of the major challenges of modern cosmology is the detection of B-mode polarization anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background. These originate from tensor fluctuations of the metric produced during the inflationary phase. Their detection would therefore constitute a major step towards understanding the primordial Universe. The expected level of these anisotropies is however so small that it requires a new generation of instruments with high sensitivity and extremely good control of systematic eects. Aims. We propose the QUBIC instrument based on the novel concept of bolometric interferometry, bringing together the sensitivity advantages of bolometric detectors with the systematics eects advantages of interferometry. Methods. The instrument will directly observe the sky through an array of entry horns whose signals will be combined together using an optical combiner. The whole set-up is located inside a cryostat. Polarization modulation will be achieved using a rotating half-wave plate and the images of the interference fringes will be formed on two focal planes (separated by a polarizing grid) tiled with bolometers. Results.We show that QUBIC can be considered as a synthetic imager, exactly similar to a usual imager but with a synthesized beam formed by the array of entry horns. Scanning the sky provides an additional modulation of the signal and improve the sky coverage shape. The usual techniques of map-making and power spectrum estimation can then be applied. We show that the sensitivity of such an instrument is comparable with that of an imager with the same number of horns. We anticipate a low level of beam-related systematics thanks to the fact that the synthesized beam is determined by the location of the primary horns. Other systematics should be under good control thanks to an autocalibration technique, specific to our concept, that will permit the accurate determination of most of the systematics parameters

Planck early results. II. The thermal performance of Planck

The performance of the Planck instruments in space is enabled by their low operating temperatures, 20 K for LFI and 0.1 K for HFI, achieved through a combination of passive radiative cooling and three active mechanical coolers. The scientific requirement for very broad frequency coverage led to two detector technologies with widely different temperature and cooling needs. Active coolers could satisfy these needs; a helium cryostat, as used by previous cryogenic space missions (IRAS, COBE, ISO, Spitzer, AKARI), could not. Radiative cooling is provided by three V-groove radiators and a large telescope baffle. The active coolers are a hydrogen sorption cooler (<20 K), a 4He Joule-Thomson cooler (4.7 K), and a 3He-4He dilution cooler (1.4 K and 0.1 K). The flight system was at ambient temperature at launch and cooled in space to operating conditions. The HFI bolometer plate reached 93 mK on 3 July 2009, 50 days after launch. The solar panel always faces the Sun, shadowing the rest of Planck, and operates at a mean temperature of 384 K. At the other end of the spacecraft, the telescope baffle operates at 42.3 K and the telescope primary mirror operates at 35.9 K. The temperatures of key parts of the instruments are stabilized by both active and passive methods. Temperature fluctuations are driven by changes in the distance from the Sun, sorption cooler cycling and fluctuations in gas-liquid flow, and fluctuations in cosmic ray flux on the dilution and bolometer plates. These fluctuations do not compromise the science data

Simulations and performance of the QUBIC optical beam combiner

QUBIC, the Q & U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology, is a novel ground-based instrument that aims to measure the extremely faint B-mode polarisation anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background at intermediate angular scales (multipoles o

Les piles à combustible. Bilan des travaux de recherches. Perspectives

Cet article fait le point, sous forme résumée, des travaux de recherches et de développement menés par l'Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) depuis vingt ans dans le domaine des piles à combustible : sélection des filières directes conduisant au choix de la pile hydrogène-air basse température à électrolyte basique, mise au point des générateurs à hydrogène alimentés en méthanol. On présente les résultats obtenus et les conclusions des enquêtes effectués dans le domaine des groupes électrogènes et des applications spéciales, dans celui de la traction automobile et dans celui de la production massive d'électricité

Les piles à combustible. Bilan des travaux de recherches. Perspectives Fuel Cells. Review of Research. Outlook

Cet article fait le point, sous forme résumée, des travaux de recherches et de développement menés par l'Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) depuis vingt ans dans le domaine des piles à combustible : sélection des filières directes conduisant au choix de la pile hydrogène-air basse température à électrolyte basique, mise au point des générateurs à hydrogène alimentés en méthanol. On présente les résultats obtenus et les conclusions des enquêtes effectués dans le domaine des groupes électrogènes et des applications spéciales, dans celui de la traction automobile et dans celui de la production massive d'électricité. This article reviews and sums up the research and development done by Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) in the last 20 years in the field of fuel cells, including the selection of direct methods leading to the choice of low-temperature basic-electrolyte hydrogen/air cells and the development of methanol-powered hydrogen generators. The results obtained are desceibed along with the conclusions of surveys made in the field of electric generators and special applications in the fields of automotive traction and massive electricity production

Thick silicon microstrip detectors simulation for PACT: Pair and Compton Telescope

International audiencePACT is a space borne Pair and Compton Telescope that aims to make a sensitive survey of the gamma-ray sky between 100 keV and 100 MeV. It is based upon two main components: a silicon-based gamma-ray tracker and a crystal-based calorimeter. In this paper we will explain the imaging technique of PACT as a Multi-layered Compton telescope (0.1–10 MeV) and its major improvements over its predecessor COMPTEL. Then we will present a simulation study to optimize the silicon tracker of PACT. This tracker is formed of thousands of identical silicon double sided strip detectors (DSSDs). We have developed a simulation model (using SILVACO) to simulate the DSSD performance while varying its thickness, impurity concentration of the bulk material, electrode pitch, and electrode width. We will present a comprehensive overview of the impact of each varied parameter on the DSSD performance, in view of the application to PACT. The considered DSSD parameters are its depletion voltage, capacitance, and leakage current. After the selection of the PACT DSSD, we will present a simulation of the performance of the PACT telescope in the 0.1–10 MeV range

PACT: a sensitive 100 keV-10 MeV all sky Pairs and Compton Telescope

International audiencePACT is a Pair And Compton Telescope that aims to make a sensitive survey of the gamma-ray sky between 100 keV and 100 MeV. It will be devoted to the detection of radioactivity lines from present and past supernova explosions, the observation of thousands of new blazars, and the study of polarized radiations from gamma-ray bursts, pulsars and accreting black holes. It will reach a sensitivity of one to two orders of magnitude lower than COMPTEL/CGRO (e.g. about 50 times lower for the broad-band, survey sensitivity at 1 MeV after 5 years). The concept of PACT will be proposed for the AstroMeV mission in the framework of the M4 ESA Call. It is based upon three main components: a silicon-based gamma-ray tracker, a crystal-based calorimeter (e.g. CeBr3:Sr), and an anticoincidence detector made of plastic scintillator panels. Prototypes of these detector planes are currently tested in the laboratories