Overview and status of BICEP Array's BA4-90/150 CMB polarimeter

Petroff, M. A., Ade, P. A. R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5127-0401, Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Sudiwala, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3240-5304 and Tucker, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1851-3918 2026. Overview and status of BICEP Array's BA4-90/150 CMB polarimeter. Presented at: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2026, Copenhagen, Denmark, 5-11 July 2026. Published in: Zmuidzinas, Jonas and Gao, Jian-Rong eds. Proceedings Volume 14156: Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy XIII. Proceedings of SPIE. , vol.14156 Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers, 10.1117/12.3105460

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Abstract

The inflation paradigm postulates a period of rapid expansion in the early Universe, which would generate gravitational waves. These tensor perturbations would produce a faint B-mode signature in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), but this signal is orders of magnitude weaker than that from the CMB’s other anisotropy and that from astrophysical foregrounds. Placing more-stringent upper limits on this signal or making a definitive detection thus requires exceptional control over instrument and measurement systematics, in addition to extremely-deep maps. The fourth BICEP Array receiver, BA4-90/150, aims to build and improve upon the heritage of the field-leading BICEP series of small-aperture CMB experiments with a dichroic instrument observing in 90 and 150 GHz bands, to advance the search for the inflationary B-mode signal. The instrument will utilize transition-edge-sensor bolometers, which will be read out using a new two-level time-division-multiplexed system and be fed via feedhorn-coupled orthomode transducers and refined cold refractive optics, with the goal of both improving systematics control and sensitivity over existing receivers. With a planned deployment to the South Pole in the 2026–27 austral summer, the instrument will occupy the fourth and final remaining slot in the BICEP Array mount, completing the phaseout of Keck Array receivers. An overview of the BA4-90/150 receiver will be presented, along with a discussion of its current status and future plans for the instrument.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item - published (Paper)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Physical, Chemical & Environmental Sciences Schools > Physics and Astronomy
Additional Information:	Article number: 141560V Full list of authors available: https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3105460
Publisher:	Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers
ISSN:	0277-786X
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2026 14:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189220

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