Experimental radio cosmology

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On beam characterization of ground-based CMB radio telescopes using UAV-mounted sources: application to the QUIJOTE TFGI and plans for LSPE-Strip

Journal of Instrumentation IOP Publishing 20:06 (2025) P06057

Authors:

Fabio Paonessa, Lorenzo Ciorba, Giuseppe Addamo, Paz Alonso-Arias, Barbara Caccianiga, Marco Bersanelli, Francesco Cuttaia, Cristian Franceschet, Ricardo Tanausú Génova Santos, Massimo Gervasi, Roger Hoyland, Mike Jones, Carlos Hugo López-Caraballo, Mauro Lumia, Michele Maris, Aniello Mennella, Gianluca Morgante, Oscar Antonio Peverini, Sabrina Realini, José Alberto Rubiño-Martín, Stefano Sartor, Angela Taylor, Fabrizio Villa, Mario Zannoni

Abstract:

The Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE) project, funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), includes the development of LSPE-Strip, a ground-based radio telescope for observing Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. LSPE-Strip, nearing its construction phase, will operate from the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, employing 49 coherent polarimeters at 43 GHz to deliver critical data on CMB anisotropies and 6 channels at 95 GHz as atmospheric monitor. On-site characterization of such advanced instruments is crucial to detect possible systematic effects, such as gain fluctuations, beam distortions, and pointing errors, that can compromise performance by introducing spurious polarizations or radiation collection from unintended directions. To address these challenges, a drone-mounted Q-band test source for on-site characterization of LSPE-Strip's polarimeter array was developed. Modern Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer a flexible approach for antenna pattern measurements, yet their use in high-frequency radio astronomy is not consolidated practice. In October 2022, a UAV-based measurement campaign was conducted with the TFGI instrument on the second QUIJOTE telescope in Tenerife, in collaboration with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. This pioneering effort aimed to validate UAV-based beam characterization methods and assess QUIJOTE's performance under operational conditions. Preliminary results demonstrated high measurement accuracy, leveraging QUIJOTE's dual-receiver configuration for beam validation. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing UAV systems in preparation for LSPE-Strip's future characterization.
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The Simons Observatory: Science Goals and Forecasts for the Enhanced Large Aperture Telescope

ArXiv 2503.00636 (2025)

Authors:

The Simons Observatory Collaboration, M Abitbol, I Abril-Cabezas, S Adachi, P Ade, AE Adler, P Agrawal, J Aguirre, Z Ahmed, S Aiola, T Alford, A Ali, D Alonso, MA Alvarez, R An, K Arnold, P Ashton, Z Atkins, J Austermann, S Azzoni, C Baccigalupi, A Baleato Lizancos, D Barron, P Barry, J Bartlett, N Battaglia, R Battye, E Baxter, A Bazarko, JA Beall, R Bean, D Beck, S Beckman, J Begin, A Beheshti, B Beringue, T Bhandarkar, S Bhimani, F Bianchini, E Biermann, S Biquard, B Bixler, S Boada, D Boettger, B Bolliet, JR Bond, J Borrill, J Borrow, C Braithwaite, TLR Brien, ML Brown, SM Bruno, S Bryan, R Bustos, H Cai, E Calabrese, V Calafut, FM Carl, A Carones, J Carron, A Challinor, P Chanial, N Chen, K Cheung, B Chiang, Y Chinone, J Chluba, HS Cho, SK Choi, M Chu, J Clancy, SE Clark, P Clarke, DL Clements, J Connors, C Contaldi, G Coppi, L Corbett, NF Cothard, W Coulton, KD Crowley, KT Crowley, A Cukierman, JM D'Ewart, K Dachlythra, R Datta, S Day-Weiss, T de Haan, M Devlin, L Di Mascolo, S Dicker, B Dober, C Doux, P Dow, S Doyle, CJ Duell, SM Duff, AJ Duivenvoorden, J Dunkley, D Dutcher, R Dünner, M Edenton, H El Bouhargani, J Errard, G Fabbian, V Fanfani, GS Farren, J Fergusson, S Ferraro, R Flauger, A Foster, K Freese, JC Frisch, A Frolov, G Fuller, N Galitzki, PA Gallardo, JT Galvez Ghersi, K Ganga, J Gao, X Garrido, E Gawiser, M Gerbino, S Giardiello, A Gill, V Gilles, U Giri, E Gleave, V Gluscevic, N Goeckner-Wald, JE Golec, S Gordon, M Gralla, S Gratton, D Green, JC Groh, C Groppi, Y Guan, N Gupta, JE Guðmundsson, S Hagstotz, P Hargrave, S Haridas, K Harrington, I Harrison, M Hasegawa, M Hasselfield, V Haynes, M Hazumi, A He, E Healy, SW Henderson, BS Hensley, E Hertig, C Hervías-Caimapo, M Higuchi, CA Hill, JC Hill, G Hilton, M Hilton, AD Hincks, G Hinshaw, R Hložek, AYQ Ho, S Ho, SP Ho, TD Hoang, J Hoh, E Hornecker, AL Hornsby, D Hoshino, SC Hotinli, Z Huang, ZB Huber, J Hubmayr, K Huffenberger, JP Hughes, A Idicherian Lonappan, M Ikape, K Irwin, J Iuliano, AH Jaffe, B Jain, HT Jense, O Jeong, A Johnson, BR Johnson, M Johnson, M Jones, B Jost, D Kaneko, ED Karpel, Y Kasai, N Katayama, B Keating, B Keller, R Keskitalo, J Kim, T Kisner, K Kiuchi, J Klein, K Knowles, AM Kofman, BJ Koopman, A Kosowsky, R Kou, N Krachmalnicoff, D Kramer, A Krishak, A Krolewski, A Kusaka, A Kusiak, P La Plante, A La Posta, A Laguë, J Lashner, M Lattanzi, A Lee, E Lee, J Leech, C Lessler, JS Leung, A Lewis, Y Li, Z Li, M Limon, L Lin, M Link, J Liu, Y Liu, J Lonergan, T Louis, T Lucas, M Ludlam, M Lungu, M Lyons, N MacCrann, A MacInnis, M Madhavacheril, D Mak, F Maldonado, A Manduca, A Mangu, H Mani, AS Maniyar, GA Marques, J Mates, F Matsuda, T Matsumura, P Mauskopf, A May, N McCallum, H McCarrick, F McCarthy, M McCulloch, J McMahon, PD Meerburg, Y Mehta, J Melin, J Meyers, A Middleton, A Miller, M Mirmelstein, K Moodley, J Moore, M Morshed, T Morton, E Moser, T Mroczkowski, M Murata, M Münchmeyer, S Naess, H Nakata, T Namikawa, M Nashimoto, F Nati, P Natoli, M Negrello, SK Nerval, L Newburgh, DV Nguyen, A Nicola, MD Niemack, H Nishino, Y Nishinomiya, A Orlando, G Orlando, J Orlowski-Scherer, L Pagano, LA Page, S Pandey, A Papageorgiou, I Paraskevakos, B Partridge, R Patki, M Peel, K Perez Sarmiento, F Perrotta, P Phakathi, L Piccirillo, E Pierpaoli, T Pinsonneault-Marotte, G Pisano, D Poletti, R Puddu, G Puglisi, FJ Qu, MJ Randall, C Ranucci, C Raum, R Reeves, CL Reichardt, M Remazeilles, Y Rephaeli, D Riechers, J Robe, MF Robertson, N Robertson, K Rogers, F Rojas, A Romero, E Rosenberg, A Rotti, S Rowe, A Roy, S Sadeh, N Sailer, K Sakaguri, T Sakuma, Y Sakurai, M Salatino, GH Sanders, D Sasaki, M Sathyanarayana Rao, TP Satterthwaite, L Saunders, L Scalcinati, E Schaan, B Schmitt, M Schmittfull, N Sehgal, J Seibert, Y Seino, U Seljak, S Shaikh, E Shaw, P Shellard, B Sherwin, M Shimon, JE Shroyer, C Sierra, J Sievers, C Sifón, P Sikhosana, M Silva-Feaver, SM Simon, A Sinclair, K Smith, W Sohn, X Song, RF Sonka, D Spergel, J Spisak, ST Staggs, G Stein, JR Stevens, R Stompor, E Storer, R Sudiwala, J Sugiyama, KM Surrao, S Sutariya, A Suzuki, J Suzuki, O Tajima, S Takakura, A Takeuchi, I Tansieri, AC Taylor, G Teply, T Terasaki, A Thomas, DB Thomas, R Thornton, H Trac, T Tsan, E Tsang King Sang, C Tucker, J Ullom, L Vacher, L Vale, A van Engelen, J Van Lanen, J van Marrewijk, DD Van Winkle, C Vargas, EM Vavagiakis, I Veenendaal, C Vergès, M Vissers, M Viña, K Wagoner, S Walker, L Walters, Y Wang, B Westbrook, J Williams, P Williams, H Winch, EJ Wollack, K Wolz, J Wong, Z Xu, K Yamada, E Young, B Yu, C Yu, M Zannoni, K Zheng, N Zhu, A Zonca, I Zubeldia
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LSPE-Strip on-sky calibration strategy using bright celestial sources

Journal of Instrumentation IOP Publishing 19:06 (2024) p06016

Authors:

RT Génova-Santos, M Bersanelli, C Franceschet, M Gervasi, C López-Caraballo, L Mandelli, S Mandelli, M Maris, A Mennella, JA Rubiño-Martín, F Villa, M Zannoni, C Baccigalupi, B Caccianiga, L Colombo, F Cuttaia, F Farsian, G Morgante, S Paradiso, G Polenta, S Ricciardi, M Sandri, A Taylor, L Terenzi, M Tomasi
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LSPE-STRIP on-sky calibration strategy using bright celestial sources

ArXiv 2401.03802 (2024)

Authors:

RT Génova-Santos, M Bersanelli, C Franceschet, M Gervasi, C López-Caraballo, L Mandelli, M Maris, A Mennella, JA Rubiño-Martín, F Villa, M Zannoni, C Baccigalupi, B Caccianiga, L Colombo, F Cuttaia, F Farsian, G Morgante, S Paradiso, G Polenta, S Ricciardi, M Sandri, A Taylor, L Terenzi, M Tomasi
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The European Low Frequency Survey

EPJ Web of Conferences EDP Sciences 293 (2024) 00031

Authors:

A Mennella, K Arnold, S Azzoni, C Baccigalupi, A Banday, RB Barreiro, D Barron, M Bersanelli, S Casey, L Colombo, E de la Hoz, C Franceschet, ME Jones, RT Genova-Santos, RJ Hoyland, AT Lee, E Martinez-Gonzalez, F Montonati, JA Rubiño-Martin, A Taylor, P Vielva
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