The QUIJOTE experiment: project overview and first results

QUIJOTE (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife) is a new polarimeter aimed to characterize the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background and other Galactic and extragalactic signals at medium and large angular scales in the frequency range 10-40 GHz. The multi-frequency (10-20~GHz) instrument, mounted on the first QUIJOTE telescope, saw first light on November 2012 from the Teide Observatory (2400~m a.s.l). During 2014 the second telescope has been installed at this observatory. A second instrument at 30~GHz will be ready for commissioning at this telescope during summer 2015, and a third additional instrument at 40~GHz is now being developed. These instruments will have nominal sensitivities to detect the B-mode polarization due to the primordial gravitational-wave component if the tensor-to-scalar ratio is larger than r=0.05.Comment: To appear in "Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VIII", Proceedings of the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society, Teruel, Spain (2014

QUIJOTE-CMB experiment: a technical overview

The QUIJOTE-CMB experiment (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife CMB experiment) is an ambitious project to obtain polarization measurements of the sky microwave emission in the 10 to 47 GHz range. With this aim, a pair of 2,5m telescopes and three instruments are being sited at the Teide Observatory, in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). The first telescope and the first instrument (the MFI: Multi Frequency Instrument) are both already operating in the band from 10 to 20 GHz, since November 2012. The second telescope and the second instrument (TGI: Thirty GHz instrument) is planned to be in commissioning by the end of summer 2014, covering the range of 26 to 36 GHz. After that, a third instrument named FGI (Forty GHz instrument) will be designed and manufactured to complete the sky survey in the frequency range from 37 to 47 GHz. In this paper we present an overview of the whole project current status, from the technical point of view

The QUIJOTE TGI

The QUIJOTE TGI instrument is currently being assembled and tested at the IAC in Spain. The TGI is a 31 pixel 26-36 GHz polarimeter array designed to be mounted at the focus of the second QUIJOTE telescope. This follows a first telescope and multi-frequency instrument that have now been observing almost 2 years. The polarimeter design is based on the QUIET polarimeter scheme but with the addition of an extra 90º phase switch which allows for quasiinstantaneous complete QUI measurements through each detector. The advantage of this is a reduction in the systematics associated with differencing two independent radiometer channels. The polarimeters are split into a cold front end and a warm back end. The back end is a highly integrated design by engineers at DICOM. It is also sufficiently modular for testing purposes. In this presentation the high quality wide band components used in the optical design (also designed in DICOM) are presented as well as the novel cryogenic modular design. Each polarimeter chain is accessible individually and can be removed from the cryostat and replaced without having to move the remaining pixels. The optical components work over the complete Ka band showing excellent performance. Results from the sub unit measurements are presented and also a description of the novel calibration technique that allows for bandpass measurement and polar alignment. Terrestrial Calibration for this instrument is very important and will be carried out at three points in the commissioning phase: in the laboratory, at the telescope site and finally a reduce set of calibrations will be carried out on the telescope before measurements of extraterrestrial sources begin. The telescope pointing model is known to be more precise than the expected calibration precision so no further significant error will be added through the telescope optics. The integrated back-end components are presented showing the overall arrangement for mounting on the cryostat. Many of the microwave circuits are in-house designs with performances that go beyond commercially available products. Individual component performance is be presented showing for each of the sub modules

QUIJOTE Experiment: status of telescopes and instrumentation

The QUIJOTE Experiment (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife) is a combined operation of two telescopes and three instruments working in the microwave band to measure the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from the northern hemisphere, at medium and large angular scales. The experiment is located at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, one of the seven Canary Islands (Spain). The project is a consortium maintained by several institutions: the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA), the Communications Engineering Department (DICOM) at Universidad de Cantabria, and the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge. The consortium is led by the IAC

The status of the Quijote multi-frequency instrument

The QUIJOTE-CMB project has been described in previous publications. Here we present the current status of the QUIJOTE multi-frequency instrument (MFI) with five separate polarimeters (providing 5 independent sky pixels): two which operate at 10-14 GHz, two which operate at 16-20 GHz, and a central polarimeter at 30 GHz. The optical arrangement includes 5 conical corrugated feedhorns staring into a dual reflector crossed-draconian system, which provides optimal cross-polarization properties (designed to be < -35 dB) and symmetric beams. Each horn feeds a novel cryogenic on-axis rotating polar modulator which can rotate at a speed of up to 1 Hz. The science driver for this first instrument is the characterization of the galactic emission. The polarimeters use the polar modulator to derive linear polar parameters Q, U and I and switch out various systematics. The detection system provides optimum sensitivity through 2 correlated and 2 total power channels. The system is calibrated using bright polarized celestial sources and through a secondary calibration source and antenna. The acquisition system, telescope control and housekeeping are all linked through a real-time gigabit Ethernet network. All communication, power and helium gas are passed through a central rotary joint. The time stamp is synchronized to a GPS time signal. The acquisition software is based on PLCs written in Beckhoffs TwinCat and ethercat. The user interface is written in LABVIEW. The status of the QUIJOTE MFI will be presented including pre-commissioning results and laboratory testing

The QUIJOTE experiment: project status and first scientific results

We present the current status of the QUIJOTE (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife) experiment, a new polarimeter with the aim of characterizing the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background, and other galactic or extra-galactic physical processes that emit in microwaves in the frequency range 10–42 GHz, and at large angular scales (around 1 degree resolution). The experiment has been designed to reach the required sensitivity to detect a primordial gravitational wave component in the CMB, provided its tensor-to-scalar ratio is larger than r ∼ 0.05. The project consists of two telescopes and three instruments which will survey a large sky area from the Teide Observatory to provide I, Q and U maps of high sensitivity. The first QUIJOTE instrument, known as Multi-Frequency Instrument (MFI), has been surveying the northern sky in four individual frequencies between 10 and 20 GHz since November 2012, providing data with an average sensitivity of 80 µK beam−1 in Q and U in a region of 20, 000 square-degrees. The second instrument, or Thirty-GHz Instrument (TGI), is currently undergoing the commissioning phase, and the third instrument, or Forty-GHz Instrument (FGI), is in the final fabrication phase. Finally, we describe the first scientific results obtained with the MFI. Some specific regions, mainly along the Galactic plane, have been surveyed to a deeper depth, reaching sensitivities of around 40 µK beam−1. We present new upper limits on the polarization of the anomalous dust emission, resulting from these data, in the Perseus molecular complex and in the W43 molecular complex

The QUIJOTE-CMB experiment: studying the polarisation of the galactic and cosmological microwave emissions

The QUIJOTE (Q-U-I JOint Tenerife) CMB Experiment will operate at the Teide Observatory with the aim of characterizing the polarisation of the CMB and other processes of Galactic and extragalactic emission in the frequency range of 10-40GHz and at large and medium angular scales. The first of the two QUIJOTE telescopes and the first multi-frequency (10-30GHz) instrument are already built and have been tested in the laboratory. QUIJOTE-CMB will be a valuable complement at low frequencies for the Planck mission, and will have the required sensitivity to detect a primordial gravitational-wave component if the tensor-to-scalar ratio is larger than r = 0.05.The QUIJOTE-CMB experiment is being developed by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), the Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria (IFCA), and the Universities of Cantabria, Manchester and Cambridge. Partial financial support is provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the projects AYA2010-21766-C03 (01, 02 and 03), and also by the Consolider-Ingenio project CSD2010-00064 (EPI: Exploring the Physics of Inflation49)

The QUIJOTE experiment: project status and first scientific results

We present the current status of the QUIJOTE (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife) experiment, a new polarimeter with the aim of characterizing the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background, and other galactic or extra-galactic physical processes that emit in microwaves in the frequency range 10–42 GHz, and at large angular scales (around 1 degree resolution). The experiment has been designed to reach the required sensitivity to detect a primordial gravitational wave component in the CMB, provided its tensor-to-scalar ratio is larger than r ∼ 0.05. The project consists of two telescopes and three instruments which will survey a large sky area from the Teide Observatory to provide I, Q and U maps of high sensitivity. The first QUIJOTE instrument, known as Multi-Frequency Instrument (MFI), has been surveying the northern sky in four individual frequencies between 10 and 20 GHz since November 2012, providing data with an average sensitivity of 80 µK beam−1 in Q and U in a region of 20, 000 square-degrees. The second instrument, or Thirty-GHz Instrument (TGI), is currently undergoing the commissioning phase, and the third instrument, or Forty-GHz Instrument (FGI), is in the final fabrication phase. Finally, we describe the first scientific results obtained with the MFI. Some specific regions, mainly along the Galactic plane, have been surveyed to a deeper depth, reaching sensitivities of around 40 µK beam−1. We present new upper limits on the polarization of the anomalous dust emission, resulting from these data, in the Perseus molecular complex and in the W43 molecular complex