arXiv subjects

A. Beelen

Publications and source records attributed to A. Beelen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

z-GAL -- A NOEMA spectroscopic redshift survey of bright Herschel galaxies: [II] Dust properties

(Abridged) We present the dust properties of 125 bright Herschel galaxies selected from the z-GAL survey. The large instantaneous bandwidth of NOEMA provides an exquisite sampling of the underlying dust continuum emission at 2 and 3 mm in the observed frame, with flux densities in at least four side bands for each source. Together with the available Herschel 250, 350, and 500 micron and SCUBA-2 850 micron flux densities, the spectral energy distribution of each source can be analyzed from the far-infrared to the millimeter, with a fine sampling of the Rayleigh-Jeans tail. This wealth of data provides a solid basis to derive robust dust properties, in particular the dust emissivity index, beta, and the dust temperature, T(dust). In order to demonstrate our ability to constrain the dust properties, we used a flux-generated mock catalog and analyzed the results under the assumption of an optically thin and optically thick modified black body emission. For the z-GAL sources, we report a range of dust emissivities with beta ~ 1.5 - 3 estimated up to high precision with relative uncertainties that vary in the range 7% - 15%, and an average of 2.2 +/- 0.3. We find dust temperatures varying from 20 to 50 K with an average of T(dust) ~ 30 K for the optically thin case and ~38 K in the optically thick case. For all the sources, we estimate the dust masses and apparent infrared luminosities (based on the optically thin approach). An inverse correlation is found between T(dust) and beta, which is similar to what is seen in the local Universe. Finally, we report an increasing trend in the dust temperature as a function of redshift at a rate of 6.5 +/- 0.5 K/z for this 500 micron-selected sample. Based on this study, future prospects are outlined to further explore the evolution of dust temperature across cosmic time.

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arXiv2023

NIKA2 Cosmological Legacy Survey: Survey Description and Galaxy Number Counts

Aims. Deep millimeter surveys are necessary to probe the dust-obscured galaxies at high redshift. We conducted a large observing program at 1.2 and 2 mm with the NIKA2 camera installed on the IRAM 30-meter telescope. This NIKA2 Cosmological Legacy Survey (N2CLS) covers two emblematic fields: GOODS-N and COSMOS. We introduce the N2CLS survey and present new 1.2 and 2 mm number count measurements based on the tiered N2CLS observations from October 2017 to May 2021. Methods. We develop an end-to-end simulation that combines an input sky model with the instrument noise and data reduction pipeline artifacts. This simulation is used to compute the sample purity, flux boosting, pipeline transfer function, completeness, and effective area of the survey. We used the 117 deg$^2$ SIDES simulations as the sky model, which include the galaxy clustering. Our formalism allows us to correct the source number counts to obtain galaxy number counts, the difference between the two being due to resolution effects caused by the blending of several galaxies inside the large beam of single-dish instruments. Results. The N2CLS-May2021 survey reaches an average 1-$σ$ noise level of 0.17 and 0.048 mJy on GOODS-N over 159 arcmin$^2$, and 0.46 and 0.14 mJy on COSMOS over 1010 arcmin$^2$, at 1.2 and 2 mm, respectively. For a purity threshold of 80%, we detect 120 and 67 sources in GOODS-N and 195 and 76 sources in COSMOS, at 1.2 and 2 mm, respectively. Our measurement connects the bright single-dish to the deep interferometric number counts. After correcting for resolution effects, our results reconcile the single-dish and interferometric number counts and are further accurately compared with model predictions.

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arXiv2023

Cosmo-tomography toward PKS1830-211: Variability of the quasar and of its foreground molecular absorption monitored with ALMA

Time variability of astronomical sources provides crude information on their typical size and on the implied physical mechanisms. PKS1830-211 is a remarkable radio-bright lensed quasar with a foreground molecular absorber at z=0.89. Small-scale morphological changes in the core-jet structure of the quasar -- which is magnified by the lensing -- result in a varying illumination of the absorber screen, which in turn causes variations in the absorption profile. We aim to study the time variations of the system [...] in order to obtain constraints on both the quasar activity and small-scale structures in the ISM of the absorber. We used ALMA to monitor the submm continuum emission, together with the absorption spectra of the H2O and CH molecules, with 17 visits spread over six months in 2016. [...] From the continuum data, we followed the evolution of the flux density, flux-density ratio, spectral index, and differential polarization between the two lensed images of the quasar; all quantities show significant variations related to the intrinsic activity of the quasar. We propose a simple parametric model of a core plus a ballistic plasmon to account for the continuum evolution, from which we constrain a time delay of 25+/-3~days between lensed images. The spectral lines reveal significant variations in the foreground absorption. A PCA highlights apparent wavy time variations, possibly linked to the helical jet precession period of the quasar. From the deep averaged spectra towards the SW image, we detect the absorption of 13CH and estimate an abundance ratio of 12CH/13CH~150. We also measure the oxygen isotopic ratios, 16O/18O=65.3+/-0.7 and 18O/17O=11.5+/-0.5. Finally, we find a remarkable continuous shallow trough in the water absorption spanning a velocity interval of nearly 500 km/s. This broad absorption could be the signature of an extra-planar molecular component. [Abridged]

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arXiv2023

Bright Extragalactic ALMA Redshift Survey (BEARS) III: Detailed study of emission lines from 71 Herschel targets

We analyse the molecular and atomic emission lines of 71 bright Herschel-selected galaxies between redshifts 1.4 to 4.6 detected by the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array. These lines include a total of 156 CO, [C I], and H2O emission lines. For 46 galaxies, we detect two transitions of CO lines, and for these galaxies we find gas properties similar to those of other dusty star-forming galaxy (DSFG) samples. A comparison to photo-dissociation models suggests that most of Herschel-selected galaxies have similar interstellar medium conditions as local infrared-luminous galaxies and high-redshift DSFGs, although with denser gas and more intense far-ultraviolet radiation fields than normal star-forming galaxies. The line luminosities agree with the luminosity scaling relations across five orders of magnitude, although the star-formation and gas surface density distributions (i.e., Schmidt-Kennicutt relation) suggest a different star-formation phase in our galaxies (and other DSFGs) compared to local and low-redshift gas-rich, normal star-forming systems. The gas-to-dust ratios of these galaxies are similar to Milky Way values, with no apparent redshift evolution. Four of 46 sources appear to have CO line ratios in excess of the expected maximum (thermalized) profile, suggesting a rare phase in the evolution of DSFGs. Finally, we create a deep stacked spectrum over a wide rest-frame frequency (220-890 GHz) that reveals faint transitions from HCN and CH, in line with previous stacking experiments.

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arXiv2023

The Bright Extragalactic ALMA Redshift Survey (BEARS) II: Millimetre photometry of gravitational lens candidates

We present 101 and 151 GHz ALMA continuum images for 85 fields selected from Herschel observations that have 500 micron flux densities >80 mJy and 250-500 micron colours consistent with z > 2, most of which are expected to be gravitationally lensed or hyperluminous infrared galaxies. Approximately half of the Herschel 500 micron sources were resolved into multiple ALMA sources, but 11 of the 15 brightest 500 micron Herschel sources correspond to individual ALMA sources. For the 37 fields containing either a single source with a spectroscopic redshift or two sources with the same spectroscopic redshift, we examined the colour temperatures and dust emissivity indices. The colour temperatures only vary weakly with redshift and are statistically consistent with no redshift-dependent temperature variations, which generally corresponds to results from other samples selected in far-infrared, submillimetre, or millimetre bands but not to results from samples selected in optical or near-infrared bands. The dust emissivity indices, with very few exceptions, are largely consistent with a value of 2. We also compared spectroscopic redshifts to photometric redshifts based on spectral energy distribution templates designed for infrared-bright high-redshift galaxies. While the templates systematically underestimate the redshifts by ~15%, the inclusion of ALMA data decreases the scatter in the predicted redshifts by a factor of ~2, illustrating the potential usefulness of these millimetre data for estimating photometric redshifts.

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arXiv2022

CONCERTO: Simulating the CO, [CII], and [CI] line emission of galaxies in a 117 $\rm deg^2$ field and the impact of field-to-field variance

In the submm regime, spectral line scans and line intensity mapping (LIM) are new promising probes for the cold gas content and star formation rate of galaxies across cosmic time. However, both of these two measurements suffer from field-to-field variance. We study the effect of field-to-field variance on the predicted CO and [CII] power spectra from future LIM experiments such as CONCERTO, as well as on the line luminosity functions (LFs) and the cosmic molecular gas mass density that are currently derived from spectral line scans. We combined a 117 $\rm deg^2$ dark matter lightcone from the Uchuu cosmological simulation with the simulated infrared dusty extragalactic sky (SIDES) approach. We find that in order to constrain the CO LF with an uncertainty below 20%, we need survey sizes of at least 0.1 $\rm deg^2$. Furthermore, accounting for the field-to-field variance using only the Poisson variance can underestimate the total variance by up to 80%. The lower the luminosity is and the larger the survey size is, the higher the level of underestimate. At $z$<3, the impact of field-to-field variance on the cosmic molecular gas density can be as high as 40% for the 4.6 arcmin$^2$ field, but drops below 10% for areas larger than 0.2 deg$^2$. However, at $z>3$ the variance decreases more slowly with survey size and for example drops below 10% for 1 deg$^2$ fields. Finally, we find that the CO and [CII] LIM power spectra can vary by up to 50% in $\rm 1 deg^2$ fields. This limits the accuracy of the constraints provided by the first 1 deg$^2$ surveys. The level of the shot noise power is always dominated by the sources that are just below the detection thresholds. We provide an analytical formula to estimate the field-to-field variance of current or future LIM experiments. The code and the full SIDES-Uchuu products (catalogs, cubes, and maps) are publicly available.

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arXiv2022

CONCERTO: Readout and control electronics

The CONCERTO spectral-imaging instrument was installed at the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) 12-meter telescope in April 2021. It has been designed to look at radiation emitted by ionised carbon atoms, [CII], and use the "intensity Mapping" technique to set the first constraints on the power spectrum of dusty star-forming galaxies. The instrument features two arrays of 2152 pixels constituted of Lumped Element Kinectic Inductance Detectors (LEKID) operated at cryogenic temperatures, cold optics and a fast Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). To readout and operate the instrument, a newly designed electronic system hosted in five microTCA crates and composed of twelve readout boards and two control boards was designed and commissioned. The architecture and the performances are presented in this paper.

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arXiv2022

Candidate cosmic filament in the GJ526 field, mapped with the NIKA2 camera

Distinctive large-scale structures have been identified in the spatial distribution of optical galaxies up to redshift z ~ 1. In the more distant universe, the relationship between the dust-obscured population of star-forming galaxies observed at millimetre wavelengths and the network of cosmic filaments of dark matter apparent in all cosmological hydrodynamical simulations is still under study. Using the NIKA2 dual-band millimetre camera, we mapped a field of ~ 90 arcminutes^2 in the direction of the star GJ526 simultaneously in its 1.15-mm and 2.0-mm continuum wavebands to investigate the nature of the quasi-alignment of five sources found ten years earlier with the MAMBO camera at 1.2 mm. We find that these sources are not clumps of a circumstellar debris disc around this star as initially hypothesized. Rather, they must be dust-obscured star-forming galaxies, or sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs), in the distant background. The new NIKA2 map at 1.15 mm reveals a total of seven SMGs distributed in projection on the sky along a filament-like structure crossing the whole observed field. Furthermore, we show that the NIKA2 and supplemental Herschel photometric data are compatible with a model of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these sources when a common redshift of 2.5 and typical values of the dust parameters for SMGs are adopted. Hence, we speculate that these SMGs might be located in a filament of the distant `cosmic web'. The length of this candidate cosmic filament crossing the whole map is at least 4 cMpc (comoving), and the separations between sources are between 0.25 cMpc and 1.25 cMpc at this redshift, in line with expectations from cosmological simulations. Nonetheless, further observations to determine the precise spectroscopic redshifts of these sources are required to definitively support this hypothesis of SMGs embedded in a cosmic filament of dark matter.

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arXiv2022

Multi-probe analysis of the galaxy cluster CL J1226.9+3332: Hydrostatic mass and hydrostatic-to-lensing bias

The precise estimation of the mass of galaxy clusters is a major issue for cosmology. Large galaxy cluster surveys rely on scaling laws that relate cluster observables to their masses. From the high resolution observations of ~ 45 galaxy clusters with NIKA2 and XMM-Newton instruments, the NIKA2 SZ Large Program should provide an accurate scaling relation between the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and the hydrostatic mass. In this paper, we present an exhaustive analysis of the hydrostatic mass of the well known galaxy cluster CL J1226.9+3332, the highest-redshift cluster in the NIKA2 SZ Large Program at z = 0.89. We combine the NIKA2 observations with thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich data from NIKA, Bolocam and MUSTANG instruments and XMM-Newton X-ray observations and test the impact of the systematic effects on the mass reconstruction. We conclude that slight differences in the shape of the mass profile can be crucial when defining the integrated mass at R500, which demonstrates the importance of the modeling in the mass determination. We prove the robustness of our hydrostatic mass estimates by showing the agreement with all the results found in the literature. Another key information for cosmology is the bias of the masses estimated assuming hydrostatic equilibrium hypothesis. Based on the lensing convergence maps from the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) data, we obtain the lensing mass estimate for CL J1226.9+3332. From this we are able to measure the hydrostatic-to-lensing mass bias for this cluster, that spans from 1 - bHSE/lens ~ 0.7 to 1, presenting the impact of data-sets and mass reconstruction models on the bias.

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arXiv2022

CONCERTO: High-fidelity simulation of millimeter line emissions of galaxies and [CII] intensity mapping

The intensity mapping of the [CII] 158um line redshifted to the sub-mm window is a promising probe of the z>4 star formation and its spatial distribution into the large-scale structure. To prepare the first-generation experiments (e.g., CONCERTO), we need realistic simulations of the sub-mm extragalactic sky in spectroscopy. We present a new version of the SIDES simulation including the main sub-mm lines around 1mm (CO, [CII], [CI]). This approach successfully reproduces the observed line luminosity functions. We then use our simulation to generate CONCERTO-like cubes (125-305GHz) and forecast the power spectra of the fluctuations caused by the various astrophysical components at those frequencies. Depending on our assumptions on the relation between star formation rate and [CII] luminosity, and the star formation history, our predictions of the z~6 [CII] power spectrum vary by two orders of magnitude. This highlights how uncertain the predictions are and how important future measurements will be to improve our understanding of this early epoch. SIDES can reproduce the CO shot noise recently measured at ~100 GHz by the mmIME experiment. Finally, we compare the contribution of the different astrophysical components at various redshift to the power spectra. The continuum is by far the brightest, by a factor of 3 to 100 depending on the frequency. At 300GHz, the CO foreground power spectrum is higher than the [CII] one for our base scenario. At lower frequency, the contrast between [CII] and extragalactic foregrounds is even worse. Masking the known galaxies from deep surveys should allow to reduce the foregrounds to 20% of the [CII] power spectrum up to z~6.5. However, this masking method will not be sufficient at higher redshifts. The code and the products of our simulation are released publicly and can be used for both intensity mapping experiments and sub-mm continuum and line surveys.

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arXiv2022

Massive merging cluster PSZ2G091 as seen by the NIKA2 camera

PSZ2 G091.83+26.11 is a galaxy cluster with M500 = 7.43 x 10^14 Msun at z = 0.822 1. This object exhibits a complex morphology with a clear bimodality observed in X-rays. However, it was detected and analysed in the Planck sample as a single, spherical cluster following a universal profile 2. This model can lead to miscalculations of thermodynamical quantities, like the pressure profile. As future multiwavelength cluster experiments will detect more and more objects at high redshifts, it is crucial to quantify this systematic effect. In this work, we use high-resolution observations of the NIKA2 camera3,4,5,6 to integrate the morphological characteristics of the cluster in our modelling. This is achieved by fitting a two-halo model to the SZ image and then by reconstruction of the resulting projected pressure profile. We then compare these results with the spherical assumption.

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arXiv2022

The Bright Extragalactic ALMA Redshift Survey (BEARS) I: redshifts of bright gravitationally-lensed galaxies from the Herschel ATLAS

We present spectroscopic measurements for 71 galaxies associated with 62 of the brightest high-redshift submillimeter sources from the Southern fields of the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS), while targeting 85 sources which resolved into 142. We have obtained robust redshift measurements for all sources using the 12-m Array and an efficient tuning of ALMA to optimise its use as a redshift hunter, with 73 per cent of the sources having a robust redshift identification. Nine of these redshift identifications also rely on observations from the Atacama Compact Array. The spectroscopic redshifts span a range $1.41<z<4.53$ with a mean value of 2.75, and the CO emission line full-width at half-maxima range between $\rm 110\,km\,s^{-1} < FWHM < 1290\,km\,s^{-1}$ with a mean value of $\sim$ 500kms$^{-1}$, in line with other high-$z$ samples. The derived CO(1-0) luminosity is significantly elevated relative to line-width to CO(1-0) luminosity scaling relation, which is suggestive of lensing magnification across our sources. In fact, the distribution of magnification factors inferred from the CO equivalent widths is consistent with expectations from galaxy-galaxy lensing models, though there is a hint of an excess at large magnifications that may be attributable to the additional lensing optical depth from galaxy groups or clusters.

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arXiv2021

Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 (GASTON): Evidence of mass accretion onto dense clumps

High-mass stars ($m_* \gtrsim 8 \, M_\odot$) play a crucial role in the evolution of galaxies, and so it is imperative that we understand how they are formed. We have used the New IRAM KIDs Array 2 (NIKA2) camera on the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope to conduct high-sensitivity continuum mapping of $\sim2$ deg$^2$ of the Galactic plane (GP) as part of the Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 (GASTON) large program. We have identified a total of 1467 clumps within our deep 1.15 mm continuum maps and, by using overlapping continuum, molecular line, and maser parallax data, we have determined their distances and physical properties. By placing them upon an approximate evolutionary sequence based upon 8 $μ$m $\textit{Spitzer}$ imaging, we find evidence that the most massive dense clumps accrete material from their surrounding environment during their early evolution, before dispersing as star formation advances, supporting clump-fed models of high-mass star formation.

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arXiv2021

Probing the role of magnetic fields in star-forming filaments: NIKA2-Pol commissioning results toward OMC-1

Dust polarization observations are a powerful, practical tool to probe the geometry (and to some extent, the strength) of magnetic fields in star-forming regions. In particular, Planck polarization data have revealed the importance of magnetic fields on large scales in molecular clouds. However, due to insufficient resolution, Planck observations are unable to constrain the B-field geometry on prestellar and protostellar scales. The high angular resolution of 11.7 arcsec provided by NIKA2-Pol 1.15 mm polarimetric imaging, corresponding to $\sim$ 0.02 pc at the distance of the Orion molecular cloud (OMC), makes it possible to advance our understanding of the B-field morphology in star-forming filaments and dense cores (IRAM 30m large program B-FUN). The commissioning of the NIKA2-Pol instrument has led to several challenging issues, in particular, the instrumental polarization or intensity-to-polarization (leakage) effect. In the present paper, we illustrate how this effect can be corrected for, leading to reliable exploitable data in a structured, extended source such as OMC-1. We present a statistical comparison between NIKA2-Pol and SCUBA2-Pol2 results in the OMC-1 region. We also present tentative evidence of local pinching of the B-field lines near Orion-KL, in the form of a new small-scale hourglass pattern, in addition to the larger-scale hourglass already seen by other instruments such as Pol2.

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arXiv2021

PSZ2G091:A massive double cluster at z=0.822 observed by the NIKA2 camera

PSZ2 G091.83+26.11 is a massive galaxy cluster with M500 = 7.43 x 10^14 Msun at z = 0.822. This object exhibits a complex morphology with a clear bimodality observed in X-rays. However, it was detected and analysed in the Planck sample as a single, spherical cluster following a universal profile [1]. This model can lead to miscalculations of thermodynamical quantities, like the pressure profile. As future multiwavelength cluster experiments will detect more and more objects at higher redshifts (where we expect the fraction of merging objects to be higher), it is crucial to quantify this systematic effect. In this work, we use high-resolution observations of PSZ2 G091.83+26.11 by the NIKA2 camera to integrate the morphological characteristics of the cluster in our modelling. This is achieved by fitting a two-halo model to the SZ image and then by reconstruction of the resulting projected pressure profile. We then compare these results with the spherical assumption.

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arXiv2021

Dust Emission in Galaxies at Millimeter Wavelengths: Cooling of star forming regions in NGC6946

Interstellar dust plays an important role in the formation of molecular gas and the heating and cooling of the interstellar medium. The spatial distribution of the mm-wavelength dust emission from galaxies is largely unexplored. The NIKA2 Guaranteed Time Project IMEGIN (Interpreting the Millimeter Emission of Galaxies with IRAM and NIKA2) has recently mapped the mm emission in the grand design spiral galaxy NGC6946. By subtracting the contributions from the free-free, synchrotron, and CO line emission, we map the distribution of the pure dust emission at 1:15mm and 2mm. Separating the arm/interarm regions, we find a dominant 2mm emission from interarms indicating the significant role of the general interstellar radiation field in heating the cold dust. Finally, we present maps of the dust mass, temperature, and emissivity index using the Bayesian MCMC modeling of the spectral energy distribution in NGC6946.

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arXiv2021

Galactic star formation with NIKA2 (GASTON): Filament convergence and its link to star formation

In the past decade filaments have been recognised as a major structural element of the interstellar medium, the densest of these filaments hosting the formation of most stars. In some star-forming molecular clouds converging networks of filaments, also known as hub filament systems, can be found. These hubs are believed to be preferentially associated to massive star formation. As of today, there are no metrics that allow the systematic quantification of a filament network convergence. Here, we used the IRAM 30m NIKA2 observations of the Galactic plane from the GASTON large programme to systematically identify filaments and produce a filament convergence parameter map. We use such a map to show that: i. hub filaments represent a small fraction of the global filament population; ii. hubs host, in proportion, more massive and more luminous compact sources that non-hubs; iii. hub-hosting clumps are more evolved that non-hubs; iv. no discontinuities are observed in the properties of compact sources as a function of convergence parameter. We propose that the rapid global collapse of clumps is responsible for (re)organising filament networks into hubs and, in parallel, enhancing the mass growth of compact sources.

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arXiv2021

Crab nebula at 260 GHz with the NIKA2 polarimeter. Implications for the polarization angle calibration of future CMB experiments

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. CMB-S4, LiteBIRD) that would allow them to detect its imprint.Neverthless, 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 at the central frequency of 260 GHz with the NIKA2 instrument and discuss the accuracy needed on such a measurement to improve the constraints on the absolute angle calibration for CMB experiments.

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