High Energy-Astrophysics | The Atacama B-Mode Search: Instrument Design and Science Prospects

Speaker: Tom Essinger-Hileman (Princeton)

The Atacama B-Mode Search (ABS) is a ground-based, 145 GHz polarimeter designed to measure the B-mode polarization of the CMB, a clear signature of a primordial gravitational-wave background. Detecting B-modes would be an important confirmation of inflationary theories, which broadly predict their existence. ABS is planned to deploy to a high-altitude site in the Atacama Desert of Chile in April of 2011. He will present an overview of the instrument design, current progress, and expected sensitivity.