A joint European /South African CMB Polarization

experiment combining imaging and interferometry in

the frequency range 10-40 GHz
S. Colafrancesco1 , R. Rebolo2 , L. Piccirillo3, J.A. Rubio Martin2 ,R.T. Genova Santos2 , E.
Martinez-Gonzalez4, P. Alexander5
1

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa)

IAC, Tenerife (Spain)
3
University of Manchester, Manchester (UK)
4
Inst de Fsica de Cantabria, Santander (Spain)
5
Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge (UK)
2

Executive Summary
The measurement of the CMB polarization with high sensitivity may lead to the detection of Bmodes in the polarization of the Big Bang radiation and to set constraints on the generation of
primordial gravitational waves and on the energy of Inflation.
We propose here to develop a set of experiments in South Africa that will explore the polarization
of the CMB and of the relevant foregrounds in the frequency range 10 to 40 GHz via mapping of
the full sky at 6 different frequencies. These will be done in combination with observations from
the Canary Islands in order to cover both hemispheres, and to provide the first all-sky survey of
radio-microwave polarization in the still not fully explored frequency range 10-40 GHz.
The Northern Hemisphere observations for this programme have already started with the
QUIJOTE experiment: two telescopes located at the Teide Observatory (Tenerife, Canary
Islands) with a set of imaging instruments providing observations at 11, 13, 17, 19, 30 and 40
GHz with a spatial resolution better than 54 arcmin. This program is undertaken by a Consortium
of European Universities and Research Centres which include Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias
(PI-institution, Spain), Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria (Spain) and the Universities of Cantabria
(Spain), Manchester (UK) and Cambridge (UK).
We propose to extend the present collaboration including the University of the Witwatersrand
(Johannesburg, South Africa), leading to a much more extended and powerful full sky CMB
polarization experiment. The extension of the project will bring the great advantages of i) full sky
coverage and ii) the increase in sensitivity by duplicating the number of detection elements.
The extension of the project to South Africa would consist of three phases:
Phase I: Replicating one QUIJOTE telescope at a South African Observatory (located in
Klerefontein, Karoo region) to conduct full sky mapping in the frequency range 10-20 GHz. In
this phase we will take advantage, and hence minimize the relative costs, of the already existing
infrastructures at the Klerefontein station in the Karoo where the C-BASS experiment is already
installed and operating. The combined Tenerife /South African experiments will provide the
most sensitive mapping of the Polarization of the Galactic Synchrotron emission in this frequency
range. Tracing the polarization of the synchrotron emission with high sensitivity is key to correct

for this contaminating foreground in the cosmological B-mode maps. A new instrument will be
developed and installed in the focal plane of the South African telescope that will provide maps
with the unprecedented sensitivity of 3 microK/degree for the full southern Hemisphere. These
maps will be key not only for our experiment but also for future ground-based and space-borne
experiments that will search for B-modes, and will be crucial to achieve a deep understanding of
the foreground radio-microwave polarized galactic and extagalactic sources. A
telescope/instrument could be ready and installed just two years after the beginning of the project.
Observations performed continuously during the following 1 year would allow us to achieve the
target sensitivity.
Phase II: Development of two 100-element interferometers covering the 30-40 GHz range, which
will be located and operated at both the Teide Observatory and at the South African site in order
to conduct very sensitive observations of selected high Galatic latitude fields in both
Hemispheres. These two interferometers will make use of state-of-the-art crycooled LNAs and of
a novel concept for the correlator that we aim to develop in the framework of this collaborative
project. The correlation system will be based on a new microwave combiner that has been
prototyped at the University of Manchester with a few elements system and could be extended to
other radio-microwave interferometers. This new correlator may enable the development of
arrays of 100-element interferometers thus increasing dramatically the sensitivity of polarization
measurements. The maps obtained with these two interferometers will be corrected for
foreground emission using the QUIJOTE imagers at 10-20 GHz. After the first year of scientific
operation, we will set constraints on the B-mode signal down to a level of the tensor-to-scalar
ratio of r=0.01, an unprecedented level of sensitivity for this fundamental parameter in the study
of the origin of the Universe.
Phase III: We intend to build two arrays of interferometers operating in the frequency range 3040 GHz (each array consisting of 10 units with 100 detection elements) for operation in the South
African and Canarian sites, respectively. Each array will contain a total number of 1000 detection
elements (small antennas), allowing to push the detection limit of the primordial gravitational
waves to values of r=0.001 after 1 year of observations.
Synergies.
We stress that this proposal has wide and strong scientific and technological synergies with the
future MeerKAt and SKA radio experiments surveying the sky at frequency > 10 GHz, and
strong synergies with the South African Human capital development program.
Training of South African MSc and PhD students, post-docs and engineers in conducting
observations, data analysis and on the construction of advanced instrumentation in
radioastronomy will be feasible from the very beginning (Phase I) of the project. South African
staff can immediately participate in the current experiment via extended visits at the Teide
Observatory and at the IAC headquarters in the Canaries where the observing programme has
already started and a new telescope and two instruments are going to be assembled during the
next two years. Training in specific technical and scientific aspects of the project can also be
acquired in the other institutes/universities of the Consortium where diverse subsystems for the
imagers and for the interferometers, and specific software packages for data reduction and
analysis will be developed.

1. Introduction
Cosmology has experienced a striking advance in the last years as a consequence of the
development of new experiments to observe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the
large scale distribution of galaxies, distant supernovae, etc.
The high-quality data produced have provided us with a consistent picture of our universe, the socalled concordance model. The data also indicate that the primordial seeds of small-scale
inhomogeneities (including our own galaxy) are predominantly adiabatic and close to Gaussian
distributed with a nearly scale-invariant power spectrum. It is now generally believed that the
theoretical framework within which we can accommodate all these observational results is
inflation, a period of accelerated expansion in the early instants after the Big-Bang. Inflation not
only drives the universe towards the present large-scale homogeneity and flatness but also
predicts the generation of the primordial seeds from quantum fluctuations. However, we lack a
unique scenario of inflation and, what is even worse, we do not understand the physics at such
high energies. New physics beyond the standard model of particle physics are needed to
understand the physical processes that gave rise to the inflationary period in the early universe.
During the last two decades the study of the anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background
(CMB) radiation has played a crucial role in our understanding of the form and composition of
the universe. This radiation is a relic of the Big Bang which propagates freely after the decoupling
of matter and radiation when the universe was some 380,000 years old. It is the farthest and oldest
light that can be observed in the universe, reflecting the dense and hot period of its early history
and representing therefore a unique proof of the Big Bang model of the universe. Since its first
detection in 1965 [Pen65], a large effort was dedicated to find the small fluctuations expected in
its temperature in different directions in the sky. These anisotropies would represent the
unambiguous sign of the presence of density fluctuations at early times which gave rise to the
formation of galaxies and to the large scale structure of the universe via gravitational instability.
The anisotropies were finally detected in 1992 with the NASA COBE satellite [Smo92] and,
together with the confirmation of the black-body radiation spectrum [Mat90] and the detection of
the CMB radiation itself, it has made possible to award the Nobel Prize already twice within the
CMB field.
The anisotropies of the CMB carry a wealth of information about the properties of our universe
and of its constituents. However, the anisotropies detected by COBE correspond to large angular
scales (low multipoles) above 10 degrees, and are produced by the gravitational redshift suffered
by the microwave photons falling to the gravitational wells formed by the matter
inhomogeneities. The theory also predicts the existence of acoustic oscillations in the power
spectrum of the anisotropies at angular scales of about 1 degree and below, produced by the
acoustic waves formed in the primordial plasma of baryons and photons.
Later ground-based and balloon-borne experiments like BOOMERANG, MAXIMA, CBI,
Archeops and VSA, and specially the NASA WMAP satellite were able to not only detect those
oscillations but also to measure the power spectrum down to about 10-arcmin scales, implying an
accuracy in the cosmological parameters of a few percent [see e.g. Hin12, Reb04].
Planck, launched in May 14th 2009, has improved the accuracy on the determination of the
cosmological parameters at a level of precision of 1% [Pla05]. Planck has two instruments
onboard, the Low Frequency and High Frequency Instruments (LFI and HFI) covering together a
frequency range 30-900 GHz, and shall provide in 2014 the best measurements of intensity and
polarization anisotropy of the CMB in the whole sky with unprecedented sensitivity, resolution
and frequency coverage. The scientific exploitation of the data is a unique opportunity to extend

the frontiers of our knowledge of the Universe. This satellite is aimed to study many
cosmological and astrophysical topics [Pla05].
The standard cosmological model also predicts that the CMB radiation is linearly polarized. The
polarization signal and its cross-correlation with the temperature anisotropies constitute an
important consistency check and help in breaking the degeneracies among some cosmological
parameters. A net value of the Stokes parameters Q and U is expected from Thomson scattering
during decoupling of photons and baryons. Since Q and U are not invariant quantities on the
sphere it is convenient to transform them in a gradient field called E-mode and a rotational field
called B-mode. The most important property of the E and B-mode decomposition is that from
their measurement we can distinguish between primordial scalar perturbations (density) and
primordial tensor perturbations (gravitational waves).
More specifically, both types of perturbations can generate E-mode polarization, however only
gravitational waves can produce B-mode polarization. It is this property that makes polarization a
key tool for the detection of the primordial gravitational wave background (GWB) which is
expected to be generated during the inflationary period of the universe. Moreover, a detection of
the B-mode would directly provide the energy scale of inflation (as measured by the ratio r of
tensor to scalar perturbations, see Fig.0).

Figure 0. Top: The cosmic mean density as a function of the Universe relative size. Detecting inflationary
gravitational waves with the CMB polarization would directly measure the shape of the cosmic density curve
in the upper left corner of the plot, while experiments trying to characterise the dark energy would measure
the same curve in the lower right corner [Boc06]. Bottom: The GW energy density as a function of the
frequency. Theoretical predictions and observational constraints on primordial GW from inflation are shown
in this plot. It is also shown the maximum expected signal for the case of r=0.01 and r=0.001. The blue
shaded region represents the range predicted for simple inflation models with the minimal number of
parameters and tunings [Boc06].

2. Cosmic inflation and the early universe

Inflation is a period of accelerated expansion in the very early universe, leading to a substantial
flattening and smoothing of the universe, which explains why it appears to us so regular at very
large scales. Inflation, in addition to smoothing and wiping out previous inhomogeneities through
expansion, also stretches short distance quantum fluctuations to large scales. Thus, the seeds of
structure formation come mainly from short distance quantum fluctuations created at the
beginning of inflation. The simplest models of inflation generate adiabatic density perturbations
that are very nearly Gaussian and with a nearly scale-invariant spectrum [Dod03].
From Friedmann equations accelerated expansion follows if the pressure is negative enough
(verifies p < -r / 3 in natural units with r being the energy density). But, then how can the cosmic
fluid parametrized in terms of p and r display such peculiar equation of state? If one considers a
scalar field model it can be shown that when its energy density is dominated by its potential
energy contribution it has an equation of state close to p = -r. These ideas indicate that if we have
one such field, usually called the inflaton, in a potential energy dominated regime, the universe
will follow an accelerated expansion.
The possibility explained above is just but one of the inflationary settings in the literature so far,
the single-field models (which are the simplest ones). There are many other scenarios for
inflation, which involve more fields or more complicated concepts. Among all the proposals of
inflationary models a huge amount of them remain compatible with the observational data
currently available.
Since inflation is thought to be a key ingredient in the generation of the seeds of inhomogeneities
in our present universe (primordial density fluctuations and gravitational waves), the
characteristics of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the CMB are determined
(among other parameters) by the characteristics of the primordial spectra of fluctuations resulting
from inflation (scalar and tensor). The main parameters that characterize the primordial spectra
are the amplitude and the tilt, ns, (also known as spectral index) for the scalar primordial
spectrum, and the tensor-to-scalar ratio of amplitudes, r, for the tensor primordial spectrum. The
measurement of these parameters to be performed in this project will provide relevant insights
and constraints in the physics of inflation.
In addition, the inflationary period can lead to other effects, such as the generation of primordial
magnetic fields. The investigation of the mechanisms of generation and the observational
implications of these primordial magnetic fields could also provide insights into the physics of
inflation [Bat09].
Understanding the physics of inflation is one of the main goals in Cosmology, and the
measurements of the B-mode polarization signal of the CMB is currently probably the most
promising method to attain considerable progress in the study of the physics of inflation. This has
been also pointed out by the ESA-ESO Working Group on Fundamental Cosmology [Pea06],
together with a strong recommendation to support these measurements and the required
technological developments.
As stated above, there is at present a wide set of inflationary models and for each model a wide
set of inflaton potentials that satisfy the present observational constraints. Therefore, it is neither
clear which is the most compelling inflationary model nor the fittest inflaton potential for each
model. However, the new data are starting to constrain more restrictively the inflationary models
and the inflaton potentials. For example, recent upper bounds on the tensor to scalar ratio r by
WMAP/Planck combined with their bounds to the spectral index ns have led to the exclusion of
chaotic single-field inflation with a monomial f4 potential that gives 60 e-folds of inflation. In
other words, this inflationary model with this inflaton potential is excluded because it will lead to

larger amplitudes in the B-mode spectrum than those observed (see Fig. 1). In this respect it is
worth mentioning that Dirac-Born-Infeld single-field inflation models can be better suited to the
observational constraints on r and ns than their conventional counterparts [Spa07], and so
potentials which would be in principle ruled out might actually be admissible. This possibility is
associated with the presence of an additional degree of freedom (linked to the proper velocity of
the DBI scenario brane in the multidimensional spacetime it lives in). In particular, an
ultrarelativistic regime would lead to a really low value of r, so if such a result were obtained, one
would have a theoretical framework to try and provide an explanation.
Another significant feature of this inflationary setup is the generic presence of non-gaussianity,
commonly expressed in terms of the non-linear coupling parameter, fNL,which is another of the
observational goals of this project. A large departure from gaussianity can also be interpreted as
observational support for inflation models inspired by extradimensions, like the mentioned DBI
framework. Yet, a convincing signal of non-gaussianity in the perturbation spectrum can be also
nicely accommodated in the warm inflation scenario [Ber05], which is characterized by allowing
couplings of the inflaton to other fields in the theory, which result in a dissipative dynamics.
Thus, summarizing constraints in r and ns lead to constraints in the inflationary models and their
inflaton potentials, and therefore contribute to defining the physical characteristics and dynamics
of the inflationary period. Even though inflation was originally associated with the grand
unification of the strong and electroweak interactions it is now clear that its energy scale, or
epoch, is quite uncertain and can be above or below that of the grand unification. However, it is
worth mentioning that from the value of ns obtained by WMAP and qualitative arguments on the
shape of the inflaton potential in the simplest models of inflation, a value r > 0.01 has been
suggested [Boy06] which is within the reach of the present project. In any case, this project will
contribute largely to progress in the current understanding of the physics of inflation by
increasing the sensitivity in the determination of the tensor to scalar ratio r and deriving
consequences for inflationary models and inflaton potentials.

Figure 1. Contours show the 68% and 95% CL derived from Planck and other cosmological datasets
compared with the theoretical predictions for different inflation models. (This figure corresponds to the upper
panel of Fig. 1 in [Pla13])

In addition, there is another topic on which this project can make a considerable impact:
primordial magnetic fields. If such fields were generated before photon decoupling they could
have left imprints in the CMB, as they could be responsible for non-Gaussianity, Planck spectrum
distortions, anisotropy spectrum modifications, generation of waves, Faraday Rotation and others.
Even though no clear signs of magnetic fields in CMB experiments have been found so far, the
situation may get reversed with new experiments QUIJOTE and Planck, due to their improved
sensitivity, frequency coverage and angular resolution, as well as with the improved capacity to
measure polarization.
This topic fits perfectly in the framework of this project, both from the experimental and
theoretical dimensions as the most attractive magnetogenesis mechanism is provided by inflation.
It can give fields at any scale in the same way that super-horizon energy density structures are
created and observed in the CMB (including the Sachs-Wolfe region of the power spectrum) and
in the large scale structure. This scenario was early assumed by [Tur88] and was developed by
several authors thereafter (i.e. [Gio07]; see [Bat00] and [Bat09] for a review of the different
mechanisms). But the mechanism lacks an as complete as desirable understanding and its
investigation is a goal of this project.
As for the observational hints, for a frequency of 30 GHz magnetic fields would provide a
rotation angle of between 1 and 20 degrees, which is measurable by QUIJOTE and Planck.
However the main difficulty is the weakness of the signal as compared to the noise, and the
expected contamination with the galactic contribution, which will require further developments in
the modelling.
3. Roadmap for CMB polarization research.
The goal of the field is to measure the CMB polarization with increasing precision and accuracy
in order to constrain the physics of the earliest moments of the Universe.
The executives of ESO (European Southern Observatory) and ESA and representatives of their
science advisory structures decided to establish a number of working groups that were tasked to
explore the possible synergies in areas of mutual interest and to make recommendations to both
organizations. One of those Working Groups was focused on Fundamental Cosmology, and their
report is publicly available [Pea06]. The Physics of inflation was identified by this group as one
of the five key questions in fundamental cosmology, for which CMB observations, especially in
polarization, provide a unique probe. These recommendations are also discussed in [Boc06]
(Task Force on CMB Research, a USA report prepared as a demand of NASA, National Science
Foundation, NSF, and the Department of Energy, DoE). In both reports, the main
recommendation under the heading of (large scale) CMB research is a future space mission (2020
or later) aimed to detect B-modes at levels between r=0.001 and r=0.01. In the mean time, they
have two basic recommendations:
1) As the highest priority, they recommend a phased program to measure the large-scale
polarization of the CMB expected from inflation. This program should start with groundbased experiments which should be able to reach limits around r=0.01 in the next 7 years.
2) Foreground signals, and in particular emission from our Galaxy, will be the major
limiting factor of the possible constraints on the existence of B-modes. Thus, they
recommend a systematic program to study polarized astrophysical foregrounds,
especially from our Galaxy. Moreover, the [Pea06] document states that, in particular, it

is desirable to obtain improved low-frequency maps around 10 GHz, which can

constrain not only the synchrotron foreground but also the so-called anomalous
foreground, which is sometimes hypothesized to arise from spinning dust grains.
The present project provides an answer to these two recommendations, and constitutes a unique
opportunity to play a leading role in the field during the next years.
3. Present status of CMB polarization observations
As discussed in the introduction, in the last decade there has been an explosion of CMB data that
has allowed a strong progress in the characterization of the temperature fluctuations. In addition,
a number of experiments (e.g. QUIET [Qui12], WMAP [Hin12], QUAD [Bro09]) have measured
the E-mode polarization of the CMB as well as the TE cross power spectrum. These observations,
in conjunction with other cosmological data sets, are allowing to place strong constraints on the
cosmological parameters and to provide a consistent picture of the universe, the so-called
concordance model. However, a detailed understanding of the processes that took place during
the early universe is still lacking. For this reason, the study of the B-mode polarization of the
CMB is one of the most important topics of current cosmology, since its detection would
constitute a major breakthrough in our understanding of the early universe.

Figure 2: Current constraints on the CMB B-mode of polarization from different experiments. The dashed
gray line corresponds to a theoretical LambdaCDM spectrum with r=0.1, while the dotted line depicts the
contribution from the lensed E-mode signal. This figure has been taken from [QUI12].
A large effort is being put within the CMB community in order to achieve this goal. Several
experiments are already setting constraints on the B-mode polarization, while others are in
preparation. In particular, the BICEP [Chi10] and QUAD [Bro09] experiments have imposed the
strongest constraints up to date in the B-mode power spectrum at scales below and above ~1,
respectively (see Figure 2). Constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r have been obtained by
combining the WMAP data with Large Scale Structure and Supernovae data [Hin12] and is
r<0.13 (95 per cent CL). If only CMB data is used, this limit is r<0.17 (95 per cent CL), obtained
by combining WMAP, SPT and ACT data. However, these results are mainly driven by the

temperature power spectrum which, at large scales, is ultimately limited by the cosmic variance,
and can also suffer from degeneracies with other cosmological parameters. Conversely, the
primordial B-mode of polarization constitutes a more direct probe of the tensor modes since it
depends primarily on r. The best constraint on r obtained directly from the B-mode polarization
has been recently provided by BICEP [Chi10] and is r<0.72 (95 per cent CL).
Planck will provide all-sky polarization data in the frequency range 30-353 GHz with very good
resolution and sensitivity. It is expected to provide a limit of r < 0.05 (at 95 per cent CL).
However, measuring polarization was not the primary goal of the mission and thus it has not been
optimally designed for this purpose. This means that there is a clear opportunity for a groundbased experiment to detect or set the strongest constraints on the primordial GWB. Indeed,
around a dozen of projects are currently being developed to be installed in the ground or air-borne
in balloons, which are designed with different technologies, resolutions and frequency ranges.
Among them, the QUIJOTE experiment that concerns this proposal uses a new design of
polarization modulators, which constitute a powerful tool to measure polarization and at the same
time reject many of the systematic effects that are present in other techniques. It will be the only
experiment to operate at low frequencies (from 10 to 40 GHz), providing very valuable
information about the emission of the Galaxy, which is crucial to clean the CMB signal. In
addition, these frequencies are a perfect complement to those of Planck and a joint analysis of
both data sets can impose even tighter constraints on r.
4. The QUIJOTE North Hemisphere Experiment
The QUIJOTE experiment [Rub09] is currently a scientific collaboration between the IAC, IFCA,
the Universities of Cantabria, Manchester and Cambridge. The PI of the project is Rafael Rebolo
(IAC). The already funded QUIJOTE experiment started operation during 2012, with the aim of
characterizing the polarization of the cosmic microwave background and other galactic or
extragalactic physical processes that emit in microwaves in the frequency range 10 to 40 GHz,
and at large angular scales (1 degree resolution). Updated information of the project can be found
at the project web page: http://www.iac.es/project/cmb/quijote.
QUIJOTE will observe at six frequencies, namely 11, 13, 17, 19, 30 and 40 GHz, and with an
angular resolution of ~1 degree. It currently operates from the Observatorio del Teide (2400 m) in
Tenerife (Spain), see figure 3. The experiment will produce these six frequency maps with
sufficient sensitivity to correct the 30 and 40 GHz maps from foreground emission and detect
primordial B modes at r = 0.1 (see figure 4). QUIJOTE will cover a total sky area of the order of
3,000 square degrees, and will reach sensitivities of ~3-4 K per beam with the low frequency
instrument (11-19GHz), and ~0.5-1 K per beam with the second and third instrument at 30 and
40 GHz. According to these nominal sensitivities, QUIJOTE will provide one of the most
sensitive 11-19 GHz measurements of the polarization of the synchrotron and anomalous
microwave emissions on degree angular scales. The four low frequency maps (11, 13, 17 and 19
GHz) will complement the measurements of the Planck satellite, helping in the correct
characterization of the galactic emission. In particular, QUIJOTE will provide a key contribution
to assess the level of a possible contribution of polarized microwave anomalous emission. Using
the low frequency maps, we plan to correct the high frequency QUIJOTE channel (30 GHz) to
search for primordial B-modes.
Conversely to other experiments, QUIJOTE will not be significantly affected by the B-mode
produced by lensing which, although interesting by itself, complicates even more the extraction of
the primordial signal. Moreover, it is one of the two only experiments that use MMIC (Monolithic

Microwave Integrated Circuits) technology, which allows for cross-checking of results with other
experiments based on bolometers
QUIJOTE (North) consists of two telescopes and three instruments instruments, which can be
exchanged in the focal plane of the two telescopes. The first instrument (hereafter MultiFrequency Instrument or MFI) is a multi-channel instrument with four separate polarimeters, two
operating at 10-14 GHz, and two at 16-20 GHz. Each horn feeds a novel cryogenic on-axis
rotating polar modulator that can rotate. The Quijote telescope and some compoments of the MFI
can be seen in figures 5 to 7. The science driver for MFI is the characterization of the galactic
foregrounds, using the four frequency maps at 11, 13, 17 and 19 GHz that will be produced. At
present, MFI is in operation. Some preliminary results are shown in figures 8 to 10.
The second and third QUIJOTE instruments will consist of 30 and 40 polarimeters operating at 30
GHz and 40 GHz respectively, and will be devoted to primordial B-modes science. The detailed
design of the second instrument is concluded, manufacturing is very advanced, and its
integration is expected at the end of 2013. More instrumental details can also be found in the
QUIJOTE web page. The QUIJOTE instruments will be located in the focal plane of a telescope
(see figure 5) that follows a crossed-Dragonian design with an effective aperture of 2.3 meters.

Figure 3 Enclosure of the QUIJOTE telescope (already finished) at the Teide Observatory (July 2009).

Figure 4. Left. QUIJOTE scientific goal for the angular power spectrum of the CMB E and B mode signals. It
is shown the case for 3 years operation time, and a sky coverage of ~5, 000 square degrees. The red line
corresponds to the primordial B-mode contribution in the case of r = 0.1. Right: Expected foreground
contamination in the 30 GHz QUIJOTE frequency band. It is shown the contribution of polarized synchrotron
emission and radio-sources for the case of subtracting sources down to 1 Jy in total intensity (upper dashed
line for radio-sources) and 300 mJy (lower dashed-line)

Figure 5. Left: A section of the first QUIJOTE telescope, showing the optical configuration and the first
instrument assembled in the focal plane. Right: The first QUIJOTE telescope, at the Teide Observatory
(picture taken in March 2013).

Spinning polar modulators

2 horns providing 8 channe ls at 11 and 13 GHz
2 horns providing 8 channe ls at 17 and 19 GHz

Polar Modulators
16-20 GHz

LNA

26-34 GHz
OMT
8/13/2013

10-14 GHz

OMT and motor

Horns

Figure 6. View of various components (LNAs, Horns, OMT, Polarizers) of the Multifrequency Instrument of
QUIJOTE.

Figure 7. MFI instrument fully assembled, before its integration in the first QUIJOTE telescope

QUIJ OTE
Northern
Hemisphere
Survey
(20000 sq deg)

Cygnus
complex

On-going

Cass A
S N remnant
W 51
S N remnant
complex

Fig. 8. Northern Hemisphere Survey performed by QUIJOTE at 11 GHz (four days of observations).

QUIJ OTE 11 GHz

Cass A
S N remnant

W MAP 22 GHz

W 51
S N remnant

Fig. 9. Detail of the Galactic plane emission centred at the Cygnus complex. Observations by QUIJOTE and
WMAP at 11 and 22 GHz.

Fig.10. The Perseus molecular complex as seen by QUIJOTE MFI at 11 GHz (left panel) and PLANCK at
30GHz (middle panel). The derived spectral energy distribution of the Perseus molecular cloud is shown in
the right panel (QUIJOTE points in red, and PLANCK points in green).
5. A European South-African CMB Polarization experiment
The present proposal aims to extend the current QUIJOTE Experiment to a South African site in
order to carry out a full sky mapping of the CMB Polarization in the frequency range 10-40 GHz.
We propose a three-phase project with a time sequential implementation of these phases:

1) Phase I: to replicate one of the QUIJOTE telescopes and build a new MFI (10-20 GHz)
instrument. The QUIJOTE telescope is designed to provide polarization free sensitive
observations up to 200 GHz. Deploy this new telescope and instrument in a South
African observing site with the goal to obtain a full Southern Hemisphere survey of
20000 sq. deg with a sensitivity of 10 microK per beam. In combination with the data of
QUIJOTE from the Northern site, it will provide a Q, U and I high-sensitivity full sky
coverage at four frequencies 11, 13, 17 and 19 GHz. These full sky maps will be the most
sensitive ever obtained at these frequencies and will be used to investigate the
polarization properties of the synchrotron emission and other possible foreground
emissions. The construction of the telescope and instrument will take 2 years. One year of
data will be sufficient to obtain maps at the four frequencies with a sensitivity and
resolution equivalent to that of WMAP at 22 GHz.
2) Phase II: to produce two interferometers of 100-elements each operating in the frequency
range 30-40 GHz. One will be located in the South-African site and the other in the
Canarian site. These interferometers would be deployed two years after the start of
operations of the QUIJOTE telescope in the South African site. Both interferometers are
aimed to carry out very sensitive measurements of 1 microK / beam in selected low
galactic emission regions covering a total of 5000 sq deg in each Hemisphere. This set of
two interferometers in both hemispheres can provide a detection of B-modes if r=0.01
one year after the beginning of the observations (see figure 11), Improving by at least a
factor 5 the sensitivity of the current QUIJOTE imaging facility at the North Hemisphere.
Solving the problems associated with the correlation of hundreds of baselines would give a
large improvement in sensitivity with respect to direct imaging experiments for which the
maximum number of detectors that can be accommodated is constrained by the limited area
available at the focal plane.
The proposed optics consists of a closed-packed array of corrugated feed-horns co-pointed on
a flat platform. An OMT separates the two polarization into two waveguides where cryogenic
LNAs provide the necessary amplification. A mixer follows to provide a proper shift of the
bandwidth where the passive correlator is sensitive. The correlator consists of a front-to-front
array of corrugated feed horns. The signal coming from all the horns is added in amplitude at
each horn of the final array and then squared by a square-wave detector. The square of all the
added amplitudes provide all the N(N-1)/2 correlations.
This novel method, pioneered by one of us [Ali03], is capable of optically combining a large
number of baselines.
The whole receiving set of arrays is positioned on a commercial mechanical mount that
provides alt-az motion.
An example of Ku-band (10 GHz) system with co-ax input is shown in the figure below.

Fig. 11. Predictions on E-mode and B-mode detection for 1 year of observations with two 100-element
interferometers (30-40 GHz) covering a total of 20000 sq deg of high Galactic latitude regions (50% of
each hemisphere). We assume the foreground correction has been performed using high sensitivity
maps of the QUIJOTE imagers (10-20 GHz) at both the South African and the Canarian site.

3) Phase III: Beyond 2018- Construction and development of two arrays of interferometers
consisting each of 10 units of 100 elements to be located at both the South African and
Canarian sites. These powerful arrays would have sufficient sensitivity to provide a
detection of B-modes if r=0.001. (see figure 12)

Fig. 12. Predictions on E-mode and B-mode detection for 1 year of observations with two arrays of
interferometers (one in South Africa and one in Canary Islands). Each array containing ten 100-element
interferometers (30-40 GHz). The arrays covering a total of 20000 sq deg of high Galactic latitude
regions (50% of each hemisphere). We assume the foreground correction has been performed using
high sensitivity maps of the QUIJOTE imagers (10-20 GHz) at both the South African and the Canarian
sites.
Objectives
- The major objective is the detection or the setting of strong constraints on the amplitude of the
primordial GWB, r0.01.
- Improving the accuracy in the determination of ns by breaking the ns- degeneracy combining
QUIJOTE and Planck. This will strongly constrain the possible models of inflation.
- Construction of the temperature (T) and polarization (Q, U) frequency maps. The full sky maps
at 10-20GHz will constitute a unique legacy product of this project.
- Construction of catalogues of extragalactic sources.

- Construction of T, Q, U maps for CMB and Galactic foregrounds.

- Determination of the temperature and polarization power spectra: TT, TE, EE, BB.
- Implications of the temperature and polarization data on the physics of inflation.
- Implications of the temperature and polarization data on the Primordial Magnetic Fields.
- Characterization of the Galactic Magnetic field.
- Constraints on the physical models for the anomalous component.
- Statistical properties of the extragalactic sources.
- Non-Gaussianity studies of the CMB maps (non-linear coupling parameter fNL, Cold Spot
[Vie04], Corona Borealis anomaly [Gen08], North-South asymmetries [Hof09]

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