PILOT: Measuring polarization in the Interstellar Medium

Publisher: Edp Sciences

E-ISSN: 1638-1963|23|issue|189-203

ISSN: 1633-4760

Source: EAS Publications Series, Vol.23, Iss.issue, 2010-03, pp. : 189-203

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Abstract


Future cosmology space missions will concentrate on measuring thepolarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which potentiallycarries invaluable information about the earliest phases of the evolutionof our universe. Such ambitious projects will ultimately be limited bythe sensitivity of the instrument and by the accuracy at whichpolarized foreground emission from our own Galaxy can be subtractedout. We present the PILOT balloon project which will aim atcharacterizing one of these foreground sources, the polarization ofthe dust continuum emission in the diffuse interstellar medium. ThePILOT experiment will also constitute a test-bed for usingmultiplexed bolometer arrays for polarization measurements.