MAXIMA: A balloon-borne cosmic microwave backgroundexperiment

Journal Article · Wed Mar 03 00:00:00 EST 2004 · Review of Scientific Instruments

OSTI ID:893505

Rabii, B; Winant, C D; Collins, J S; Lee, A T; Richards, P L; Abroe, M E; Hanany, S; Johnson, B R; Ade, P; Balbi, A; Bock, J J; Borrill, J; Stompor, R; Boscaleri, A; Pascale, E; de Bernardis, P; Ferreira, P G; Hristov, V V; Lange, A E; Jaffe, A H ; Netterfield, C B; Smoot, G F; Wu, J H.P.

We describe the Millimeter wave Anisotropy eXperiment IMaging Array (MAXIMA), a balloon-borne experiment which measured the temperature anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on angular scales of 10(minutes) to 5 degrees. MAXIMA mapped the CMB using 16 bolometric detectors in spectral bands centered at 150, 240, and 410 GHz, with 10(minutes) resolution at all frequencies. The combined receiver sensitivity to CMB anisotropy was similar to 40 mu K root s. The bolometric detectors, which were cooled to 100 mK, were a prototype of the detectors which will be used on the Planck Surveyor Satellite of the European Space Agency. Systematic parasitic contributions were controlled by using four uncorrelated spatial modulations, thorough cross-linking, multiple independent CMB observations, heavily baffled optics, and strong spectral discrimination. Pointing reconstruction was accurate to 1(minute), and absolute calibration was better than 4 percent. Two MAXIMA flights with more than 8.5 h of CMB observations have mapped a total of 300deg(2) of the sky in regions of negligible known foreground emission. MAXIMA results have been released in previous publications and shown to be consistent with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. MAXIMA Imaps, power spectra, and correlation matrices are publicly available at http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/maxima.

• Research Organization: COLLABORATION - UCBerkeley
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 893505
• Report Number(s): LBNL--61772
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Journal Name: Review of Scientific Instruments Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 77; ISSN 0034-6748; ISSN RSINAK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANISOTROPY
CALIBRATION
ESA
MATRICES
OPTICS
RELICT RADIATION
RESOLUTION
SATELLITES
SENSITIVITY
SKY
SPECTRA