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COMPASS: An Instrument for Measuring the Polarization of the CMB on Intermediate Angular Scales

Philip C. Farese·Giorgio Dall'Oglio·Josh Gundersen·Brian Keating·Slade Klawikowski·Lloyd Knox·Alan Levy·Chris O'Dell·Alan Peel·Lucio Piccirillo·John Ruhl·Peter Timbie
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Abstract

COMPASS is an on-axis 2.6 meter telescope coupled to a correlation polarimeter. The entire instrument was built specifically for CMB polarization studies. Careful attention was given to receiver and optics design, stability of the pointing platform, avoidance of systematic offsets, and development of data analysis techniques. Here we describe the experiment, its strengths and weaknesses, and the various things we have learned that may benefit future efforts to measure the polarization of the CMB.

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Philip C. Farese, Giorgio Dall'Oglio, Josh Gundersen, Brian Keating, Slade Klawikowski, Lloyd Knox, Alan Levy, Chris O'Dell, Alan Peel, Lucio Piccirillo, John Ruhl, Peter Timbie. 2003-06-23. COMPASS: An Instrument for Measuring the Polarization of the CMB on Intermediate Angular Scales. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newar.2003.09.031

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