https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202225700042
Crab nebula at 260 GHz with the NIKA2 polarimeter: Implications for the polarization angle calibration of future CMB experiments
1 Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), CNRS, Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France
2 Laboratoire de Physique de l’École Normale Supérieure, ENS, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, 75005 Paris, France
3 LLR (Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet), CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France
4 School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queen’s Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
5 AIM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 91191 Gifsur-Yvette, France
6 Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LPSC-IN2P3, 53, avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
7 CNRS, IRAP, 9 Av. colonel Roche, BP 44346, 31028 Toulouse cedex 4, France
8 Institut Néel, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, France
9 Institut de RadioAstronomie Millimétrique (IRAM), Grenoble, France
10 Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, CNES, LAM (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), Marseille, France
11 Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy
12 Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
13 Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
14 Instituto de Radioastronomía Milimétrica (IRAM), Granada, Spain
15 LERMA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC, 75014 Paris, France
16 School of Earth and Space Exploration and Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
17 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
18 Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS (UMR7095), 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
19 Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
20 Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
* e-mail: alessia.ritacco@phys.ens.fr
Published online: 17 January 2022
The quest for primordial gravitational waves enclosed in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization B-modes signal motivates the development of a new generation of high sensitive experiments (e.g. CMBS4, LiteBIRD), thus allowing to probe the inflationary epoch in the early Universe. However, this will be only possible by ensuring a high control of the instrumental systematic effects and an accurate absolute calibration of the polarization angle.
The Crab nebula is known to be a polarization calibrator on the sky for CMB experiments. Already used for the Planck satellite it exhibits a high polarized signal at microwave wavelengths. In this work we present Crab polarization observations obtained, in the 260 GHz frequency band, with the NIKA2 instrument. Furthermore, we discuss the accuracy needed on such a measurement to improve the constraints on the absolute angle calibration for CMB experiments.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2022
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
