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Register a new userPlanck pre-launch status: the Planck-LFI programme
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Added by
Alessandro Gruppuso
Publication date
2010
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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This paper provides an overview of the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) programme within the ESA Planck mission. The LFI instrument has been developed to produce high precision maps of the microwave sky at frequencies in the range 27-77 GHz, below the peak of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation spectrum. The scientific goals are described, ranging from fundamental cosmology to Galactic and extragalactic astrophysics. The instrument design and development are outlined, together with the model philosophy and testing strategy. The instrument is presented in the context of the Planck mission. The LFI approach to ground and inflight calibration is described. We also describe the LFI ground segment. We present the results of a number of tests demonstrating the capability of the LFI data processing centre (DPC) to properly reduce and analyse LFI flight data, from telemetry information to calibrated and cleaned time ordered data, sky maps at each frequency (in temperature and polarization), component emission maps (CMB and diffuse foregrounds), catalogs for various classes of sources (the Early Release Compact Source Catalogue and the Final Compact Source Catalogue). The organization of the LFI consortium is briefly presented as well as the role of the core team in data analysis and scientific exploitation. All tests carried out on the LFI flight model demonstrate the excellent performance of the instrument and its various subunits. The data analysis pipeline has been tested and its main steps verified. In the first three months after launch, the commissioning, calibration, performance, and verification phases will be completed, after which Planck will begin its operational life, in which LFI will have an integral part.
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In this paper we present the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI), designed and developed as part of the Planck space mission, the ESA program dedicated to precision imaging of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Planck-LFI will observe the full sky in intensity and polarisation in three frequency bands centred at 30, 44 and 70 GHz, while higher frequencies (100-850 GHz) will be covered by the HFI instrument. The LFI is an array of microwave radiometers based on state-of-the-art Indium Phosphide cryogenic HEMT amplifiers implemented in a differential system using blackbody loads as reference signals. The front-end is cooled to 20K for optimal sensitivity and the reference loads are cooled to 4K to minimise low frequency noise. We provide an overview of the LFI, discuss the leading scientific requirements and describe the design solutions adopted for the various hardware subsystems. The main drivers of the radiometric, optical and thermal design are discussed, including the stringent requirements on sensitivity, stability, and rejection of systematic effects. Further details on the key instrument units and the results of ground calibration are provided in a set of companion papers.
This paper describes the mapmaking procedure applied to Planck LFI (Low Frequency Instrument) data. The mapmaking step takes as input the calibrated timelines and pointing information. The main products are sky maps of $I,Q$, and $U$ Stokes components. For the first time, we present polarization maps at LFI frequencies. The mapmaking algorithm is based on a destriping technique, enhanced with a noise prior. The Galactic region is masked to reduce errors arising from bandpass mismatch and high signal gradients. We apply horn-uniform radiometer weights to reduce effects of beam shape mismatch. The algorithm is the same as used for the 2013 release, apart from small changes in parameter settings. We validate the procedure through simulations. Special emphasis is put on the control of systematics, which is particularly important for accurate polarization analysis. We also produce low-resoluti
We present the current estimate of instrumental and systematic effect uncertainties for the Planck-Low Frequency Instrument relevant to the first release of the Planck cosmological results. We give an overview of the main effects and of the tools and methods applied to assess residuals in maps and power spectra. We also present an overall budget of known systematic effect uncertainties, which are dominated sidelobe straylight pick-up and imperfect calibration. However, even these two effects are at least two orders of magnitude weaker than the cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations as measured in terms of the angular temperature power spectrum. A residual signal above the noise level is present in the multipole range $ell<20$, most notably at 30 GHz, and is likely caused by residual Galactic straylight contamination. Current analysis aims to further reduce the level of spurious signals in the data and to improve the systematic effects modelling, in particular with respect to straylight and calibration uncertainties.
We give the calibration and scientific performance parameters of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) measured during the ground cryogenic test campaign. These parameters characterise the instrument response and constitute our best pre-launch knowledge of the LFI scientific performance. The LFI shows excellent $1/f$ stability and rejection of instrumental systematic effects; measured noise performance shows that LFI is the most sensitive instrument of its kind. The set of measured calibration parameters will be updated during flight operations through the end of the mission.
The Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) on-board the ESA Planck satellite carries eleven radiometer subsystems, called Radiometer Chain Assemblies (RCAs), each composed of a pair of pseudo-correlation receivers. We describe the on-ground calibration campaign performed to qualify the flight model RCAs and to measure their pre-launch performances. Each RCA was calibrated in a dedicated flight-like cryogenic environment with the radiometer front-end cooled to 20K and the back-end at 300K, and with an external input load cooled to 4K. A matched load simulating a blackbody at different temperatures was placed in front of the sky horn to derive basic radiometer properties such as noise temperature, gain, and noise performance, e.g. 1/f noise. The spectral response of each detector was measured as was their susceptibility to thermal variation. All eleven LFI RCAs were calibrated. Instrumental parameters measured in these tests, such as noise temperature, bandwidth, radiometer isolation, and linearity, provide essential inputs to the Planck-LFI data analysis.
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