Composite infrared bolometers with Si_3N_4 micromesh absorbers

We report the design and performance of 300-mK composite bolometers that use micromesh absorbers and support structures patterned from thin films of low-stress silicon nitride. The small geometrical filling factor of the micromesh absorber provides 20× reduction in heat capacity and cosmic ray cross section relative to a solid absorber with no loss in IR-absorption efficiency. The support structure is mechanically robust and has a thermal conductance, G < 2 × 10^(−11) W/K, which is four times smaller than previously achieved at 300 mK. The temperature rise of the bolometer is measured with a neutron transmutation doped germanium thermistor attached to the absorbing mesh. The dispersion in electrical and thermal parameters of a sample of 12 bolometers optimized for the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Infrared Experiment is ±7% in R (T), ±5% in optical efficiency, and ±4% in G

Limits on Arcminute Scale Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy with the BIMA Array

We have used the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland-Association (BIMA) millimeter array outfitted with sensitive cm-wave receivers to search for Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies on arcminute scales. The interferometer was placed in a compact configuration which produces high brightness sensitivity, while providing discrimination against point sources. Operating at a frequency of 28.5 GHz, the FWHM primary beam of the instrument is 6.6 arcminutes. We have made sensitive images of seven fields, five of which where chosen specifically to have low IR dust contrast and be free of bright radio sources. Additional observations with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) millimeter array were used to assist in the location and removal of radio point sources. Applying a Bayesian analysis to the raw visibility data, we place limits on CMB anisotropy flat-band power Q_flat = 5.6 (+3.0 -5.6) uK and Q_flat < 14.1 uK at 68% and 95% confidence. The sensitivity of this experiment to flat band power peaks at a multipole of l = 5470, which corresponds to an angular scale of approximately 2 arcminutes. The most likely value of Q_flat is similar to the level of the expected secondary anisotropies.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, LaTex, aas2pp4.sty, ApJ submitte

Cosmological Parameter Extraction from the First Season of Observations with DASI

The Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (\dasi) has measured the power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy over the range of spherical harmonic multipoles 100<l<900. We compare this data, in combination with the COBE-DMR results, to a seven dimensional grid of adiabatic CDM models. Adopting the priors h>0.45 and 0.0<=tau_c<=0.4, we find that the total density of the Universe Omega_tot=1.04+/-0.06, and the spectral index of the initial scalar fluctuations n_s=1.01+0.08-0.06, in accordance with the predictions of inflationary theory. In addition we find that the physical density of baryons Omega_b.h^2=0.022+0.004-0.003, and the physical density of cold dark matter Omega_cdm.h^2=0.14+/-0.04. This value of Omega_b.h^2 is consistent with that derived from measurements of the primordial abundance ratios of the light elements combined with big bang nucleosynthesis theory. Using the result of the HST Key Project h=0.72+/-0.08 we find that Omega_t=1.00+/-0.04, the matter density Omega_m=0.40+/-0.15, and the vacuum energy density Omega_lambda=0.60+/-0.15. (All 68% confidence limits.)Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, minor changes in response to referee comment

Imaging the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect

We report on results of interferometric imaging of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) with the OVRO and BIMA mm-arrays. Using low-noise cm-wave receivers on the arrays, we have obtained high quality images for 27 distant galaxy clusters. We review the use of the SZE as a cosmological tool. Gas mass fractions derived from the SZE data are given for 18 of the clusters, as well as the implied constraint on the matter density of the universe, $\Omega_M$. We find $\Omega_M h_{100} \le 0.22 ^{+0.05}_{-0.03}$. A best guess for the matter density obtained by assuming a reasonable value for the Hubble constant and also by attempting to account for the baryons contained in the galaxies as well as those lost during the cluster formation process gives $\Omega_M \sim 0.25$. We also give preliminary results for the Hubble constant. Lastly, the power for investigating the high redshift universe with a non-targeted high sensitivity SZE survey is discussed and an interferometric survey is proposed.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, latex, contribution to Nobel Symposium "Particle Physics and the Universe" to appear in Physica Scripta and World Scientific, eds L. Bergstrom, P. Carlson and C. Fransso

A Method for Individual Source Brightness Estimation in Single- and Multi-band Data

We present a method of reliably extracting the flux of individual sources from sky maps in the presence of noise and a source population in which number counts are a steeply falling function of flux. The method is an extension of a standard Bayesian procedure in the millimeter/submillimeter literature. As in the standard method, the prior applied to source flux measurements is derived from an estimate of the source counts as a function of flux, dN/dS. The key feature of the new method is that it enables reliable extraction of properties of individual sources, which previous methods in the literature do not. We first present the method for extracting individual source fluxes from data in a single observing band, then we extend the method to multiple bands, including prior information about the spectral behavior of the source population(s). The multi-band estimation technique is particularly relevant for classifying individual sources into populations according to their spectral behavior. We find that proper treatment of the correlated prior information between observing bands is key to avoiding significant biases in estimations of multi-band fluxes and spectral behavior, biases which lead to significant numbers of misclassified sources. We test the single- and multi-band versions of the method using simulated observations with observing parameters similar to that of the South Pole Telescope data used in Vieira, et al. (2010).Comment: 11 emulateapj pages, 3 figures, revised to match published versio

A Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Survey for High Redshift Clusters

Interferometric observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) toward clusters of galaxies provide sensitive cosmological probes. We present results from 1 cm observations (at BIMA and OVRO) of a large, intermediate redshift cluster sample. In addition, we describe a proposed, higher sensitivity array which will enable us to survey large portions of the sky. Simulated observations indicate that we will be able to survey one square degree of sky per month to sufficient depth that we will detect all galaxy clusters more massive than 2x10^{14} h^{-1}_{50}M_\odot, regardless of their redshift. We describe the cluster yield and resulting cosmological constraints from such a survey.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, latex, contribution to VLT Opening Symposiu

Millimeter Wavelength Brightness Fluctuations of the Atmosphere Above the South Pole

We report measurements of the millimeter wavelength brightness fluctuations produced by the atmosphere above the South Pole made with the Arcminute Cosmology Bolometer Array Receiver (ACBAR). The data span the 2002 Austral winter during which ACBAR was mounted on the Viper telescope at the South Pole. We recover the atmospheric signal in the presence of instrument noise by calculating the correlation between signals from distinct elements of the ACBAR bolometer array. With this method, it is possible to measure atmospheric brightness fluctuations with high SNR even under the most stable atmospheric conditions. The observed atmospheric signal is characterized by the parameters of the Komolgorov-Taylor (KT) model, which are the amplitude and power law exponent describing the atmospheric power spectrum, and the two components of the wind angular velocity at the time of the observation. The KT model is typically a good description of the observed fluctuations, and fits to the data produce values of the Komolgorov exponent that are consistent with theoretical expectations. By combining the wind angular velocity results with measurements of the wind linear velocity, we find that the altitude of the observed atmospheric fluctuations is consistent with the distribution of water vapor determined from radiosonde data. For data corresponding to frequency passbands centered on 150, 219, and 274 GHz, we obtain median fluctuation power amplitudes of [10, 38, 74] mK^{2} rad^{-5/3} in Rayleigh-Jeans temperature units. Comparing with previous work, we find that these median amplitudes are approximately an order of magnitude smaller than those found at the South Pole during the Austral summer and at least 30 times lower than found at the ALMA site in the Atacama desert.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, submitted to ApJ, vertical margins fixe