EAS Publications Series · 2007 · 13 citations · 0 references
Natural SciencesAstronomyPhysicsAstrophysicsCosmologyInterstellar MediumCosmic Microwave BackgroundCosmic Microwave Background ObservationsInterstellar DustInterstellar Dust EmissionObservational CosmologyCmb PolarizationDust Continuum EmissionDust In Diffuse Interstellar MediumInterstellar Dust PolarizationInterstellar Medium PolarizationInterstellar PolarizationPolarizationPolarization Measurements
Future cosmology space missions will concentrate on measuring the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which potentially carries invaluable information about the earliest phases of the evolution of our universe. Such ambitious projects will ultimately be limited by the sensitivity of the instrument and by the accuracy at which polarized foreground emission from our own Galaxy can be subtracted out. We present the PILOT balloon project which will aim at characterizing one of these foreground sources, the polarization of the dust continuum emission in the diffuse interstellar medium. The PILOT experiment will also constitute a test-bed for using multiplexed bolometer arrays for polarization measurements.