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The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne CMB polarimeter designed to constrain the B-mode signature of cosmological inflation. Sequential one-day flights from Northern- and Southern- Hemisphere sites will yield maps of Stokes I, Q, U and V at 200, 270, 350 and 600 GHz over 85% of the sky. The full optical path is cooled to 1.5 K by liquid helium in the ARCADE bucket dewar, and a variable-delay polarization modulator (VPM) at the front of the optics modulates the polarization response. Independent Q and U cameras each have two 32x40 Transition Edge Sensor array receivers. In addition to its primary inflationary science goal, PIPER will also measure the circular (Stokes V) polarization to a depth similar to that of the primary linear polarization. The circular polarization has received relatively little attention in large-area surveys, with constraints from the 1980’s and recent results by the Milan Polarimeter. Astrophysical circular polarization is generally tied to the presence of magnetic fields, either in relativistic plasmas or Zeeman splitting of resonances. These effects are thought to be undetectable at PIPER's frequencies and resolution, despite the depth. The expectation of a null result makes the deep Stokes V map a good cross-check for experimental systematics. More fundamentally, the fact that the sky is expected to be dark in Stokes V makes it a sector sensitive to processes such as Lorentz-violating terms in the standard model or magnetic fields in the CMB era.

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument that will probe the epoch of reionization and search for the signature of inflation through large angular scale measurements of the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background in four frequency bands from 200 to 600 GHz. The PIPER receiver couples two 32x40 arrays of transition-edge sensors (TES) to cryogenic telescope optics. The optics are maintained at < 3 K using superfluid pumps in an open bucket of liquid helium. The receiver houses the detector arrays and sub-K cooler in a superfluid-tight enclosure. We describe several aspects of the receiver design and performance: 1) the thermal design of the receiver and cooling to 100 mK with a continuous adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (CADR) 2) performance of the TES arrays in the integrated receiver, 3) design of the reimaging optics and superfluid-tight windows. The PIPER receiver is the first implementation of kilo-pixel TES bolometer arrays combined with a continuous ADR operating at 100 mK, which provide 10 uW cooling....

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument that will probe the epoch of reionization and search for the signature of inflation through large angular scale measurements of the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background in four frequency bands from 200 to 600 GHz. PIPER consists of co-pointed twin cryogenic telescopes operating in an open liquid helium bucket dewar that upon achieving float altitude cool below a temperature of 3 K. Variable-delay polarization modulators (VPMs) provide sensitivity to circular polarization for systematic error control, along with one linear polarization component per telescope. The twin telescopes provide simultaneous sensitivity to Stokes I, Q, U, and V. On 14 October 2019, PIPER flew from Fort Sumner, NM, configured to observe in a band centered at 200 GHz. The flight lasted 13 hours, reaching an altitude of 30.2 km. Failure of an observation hatch to open upon reaching float altitude prevented astrophysical observations; however, the VPMs and telescope cryogenics were operated successfully. Here we report on the 2019 PIPER flight and the performance of these systems at float....

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument that will probe the epoch of reionization and search for the signature of inflation through large angular scale measurements of the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background in four frequency bands from 200 to 600 GHz. The sky is imaged on to two 32x40 pixel arrays of time-domain multiplexed Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers operating at a bath temperature of 100 mK to achieve background-limited sensitivity. Each kilopixel array is indium-bump-bonded to a 2D superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) time-domain multiplexer (MUX) chip and read out by warm electronics. Each pixel measures total incident power over a frequency band defined by bandpass filters in front of the array, while polarization sensitivity is provided by the upstream Variable-delay Polarization Modulators (VPMs) and analyzer grids. We present measurements of the detector dark parameters including transition temperature, saturation power, thermal conductivity, and time constants. We also present a summary of the pre-flight characterization of the detector arrays in the fully integrated flight receiver, describe the optimization of the integrated readout parameters, and the overall pixel yield of the arrays....

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne CMB polarimeter designed to constrain the B-mode signature of cosmological inflation. Sequential one-day flights from Northern- and Southern- Hemisphere sites will yield maps of Stokes I, Q, U and V at 200, 270, 350 and 600 GHz over 85% of the sky. The full optical path is cooled to 1.5 K by liquid helium in the ARCADE bucket dewar, and a variable-delay polarization modulator (VPM) at the front of the optics modulates the polarization response. Independent Q and U cameras each have two 32x40 Transition Edge Sensor array receivers. In addition to its primary inflationary science goal, PIPER will also measure the circular (Stokes V) polarization to a depth similar to that of the primary linear polarization. The circular polarization has received relatively little attention in large-area surveys, with constraints from the 1980’s and recent results by the Milan Polarimeter. Astrophysical circular polarization is generally tied to the presence of magnetic fields, either in relativistic plasmas or Zeeman splitting of resonances. These effects are thought to be undetectable at PIPER's frequencies and resolution, despite the depth. The expectation of a null result makes the deep Stokes V map a good cross-check for experimental systematics. More fundamentally, the fact that the sky is expected to be dark in Stokes V makes it a sector sensitive to processes such as Lorentz-violating terms in the standard model or magnetic fields in the CMB era.

We describe the PIPER balloon born instrument for observing the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The experiment uses two co-aligned cold optic telescopes with variable-delay polarization modulators as their first optical element. Each telescope has two 32 x 40 arrays of backshort-under-grid(BUG) TES bolometers

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background in search of the expected signature of primordial gravity waves excited during an inflationary epoch shortly after the Big Bang. PIPER consists of two co-aligned telescopes, one sensitive to the Q Stokes parameter and the other to U. Sky signals will be detected with 5120 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers distributed in four rectangular close-packed arrays maintained at 100 mK. To maximize the sensitivity of the instrument, both telescopes are mounted within a single open bucket dewar and are maintained at 1.5 K throughout flight, with no ambient-temperature windows between the sky and the detectors. To mitigate the effects of systematic errors, the polarized sky signals will be modulated using a variable-delay polarization modulator. PIPER will observe at frequencies 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz to separate the CMB from polarized dust emission within the Galaxy. A series of flights alternating between northern and southern hemisphere launch sites will produce nearly full-sky maps in Stokes I, Q, U, and V. I will discuss the current status and potential science returns from the PIPER project.

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background in search of the expected signature of primordial gravity waves excited during an inflationary epoch shortly after the Big Bang. PIPER consists of two co-aligned telescopes, one sensitive to the Q Stokes parameter and the other to U. Sky signals will be detected with 5120 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers distributed in four rectangular close-packed arrays maintained at 100 mK. To maximize the sensitivity of the instrument, both telescopes are mounted within a single open bucket dewar and are maintained at 1.5 K throughout flight, with no ambient-temperature windows between the sky and the detectors. To mitigate the effects of systematic errors, the polarized sky signals will be modulated using a variable-delay polarization modulator. PIPER will observe at frequencies 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz to separate the CMB from polarized dust emission within the Galaxy. A series of flights alternating between northern and southern hemisphere launch sites will produce nearly full-sky maps in Stokes I, Q, U, and V. I will discuss the current status and potential science returns from the PIPER project.

We describe the PIPER balloon born instrument for observing the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The experiment uses two co-aligned cold optic telescopes with variable-delay polarization modulators as their first optical element. Each telescope has two 32 x 40 arrays of backshort-under-grid(BUG) TES bolometers

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background in search of the expected signature of primordial gravity waves excited during an inflationary epoch shortly after the Big Bang. PIPER consists of two co-aligned telescopes, one sensitive to the Q Stokes parameter and the other to U. Sky signals will be detected with 5120 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers distributed in four rectangular close-packed arrays maintained at 100 mK. To maximize the sensitivity of the instrument, both telescopes are mounted within a single open bucket dewar and are maintained at 1.5 K throughout flight, with no ambient-temperature windows between the sky and the detectors. To mitigate the effects of systematic errors, the polarized sky signals will be modulated using a variable-delay polarization modulator. PIPER will observe at frequencies 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz to separate the CMB from polarized dust emission within the Galaxy. A series of flights alternating between northern and southern hemisphere launch sites will produce nearly full-sky maps in Stokes I, Q, U, and V. I will discuss the current status and potential science returns from the PIPER project.

The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background in search of the expected signature of primordial gravity waves excited during an inflationary epoch shortly after the Big Bang. PIPER consists of two co-aligned telescopes, one sensitive to the Q Stokes parameter and the other to U. Sky signals will be detected with 5120 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers distributed in four rectangular close-packed arrays maintained at 100 mK. To maximize the sensitivity of the instrument, both telescopes are mounted within a single open bucket dewar and are maintained at 1.5 K throughout flight, with no ambient-temperature windows between the sky and the detectors. To mitigate the effects of systematic errors, the polarized sky signals will be modulated using a variable-delay polarization modulator. PIPER will observe at frequencies 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz to separate the CMB from polarized dust emission within the Galaxy. A series of flights alternating between northern and southern hemisphere launch sites will produce nearly full-sky maps in Stokes I, Q, U, and V. I will discuss the current status and potential science returns from the PIPER project.