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Register a new userThe SPOrt Project: Cosmological and Astrophysical Goals
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We present the cosmological and astrophysical objectives of the SPOrt mission, which is scheduled for flying on the International Space Station (ISS) in the year 2002 with the purpose of measuring the diffuse sky polarized radiation in the microwave region. We discuss the problem of disentangling the cosmic background polarized signal from the Galactic foregrounds.
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The Sky Polarization Observatory (SPOrt) is presented as a project aimed to measure the diffuse sky polarized emission, from the International Space Station, in the frequency range 20-90 GHz with 7 degrees of HPBW. The SPOrt experimental configuration is described with emphasis on the aspects that make SPOrt the first European scientific payload operating at microwave wavelengths.
BaR-SPOrt (Balloon-borne Radiometers for Sky Polarisation Observations) is an experiment to measure the linearly polarized emission of sky patches at 32 and 90 GHz with sub-degree angular resolution. It is equipped with high sensitivity correlation polarimeters for simultaneous detection of both the U and Q stokes parameters of the incident radiation. On-axis telescope is used to observe angular scales where the expected polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMBP) peaks. This project shares most of the know-how and sophisticated technology developed for the SPOrt experiment onboard the International Space Station. The payload is designed to flight onboard long duration stratospheric balloons both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres where low foreground emission sky patches are accessible. Due to the weakness of the expected CMBP signal (in the range of microK), much care has been spent to optimize the instrument design with respect to the systematics generation, observing time efficiency and long term stability. In this contribution we present the instrument design, and first tests on some components of the 32 GHz radiometer.
The Fornax cluster provides a uniquely compact laboratory to study the detailed history of early-type galaxies and the role played by environment in driving their evolution and their transformation from late-type galaxies. Using the superb capabilities of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer on the Very Large Telescope, high-quality integral-field spectroscopic data were obtained for the inner regions of all the bright ($m_Bleq15$) galaxies within the virial radius of Fornax. The stellar haloes of early-type galaxies are also covered out to about four effective radii. State-of-the-art stellar dynamical and population modelling allows to aim in particular at better characterising the disc components of fast-rotating early-type galaxies, constraining radial variations in the stellar initial-mass functions and measuring the stellar age, metallicity, and $alpha$-element abundance of stellar haloes in cluster galaxies. This paper describes the sample selection, observations, and overall goals of the survey, and provides initial results based on the spectroscopic data, including the detailed characterisation of stellar kinematics and populations to large radii; decomposition of galaxy components directly via their orbital structure; the ability to identify globular clusters and planetary nebulae, and derivation of high-quality emission-line diagnostics in the presence of complex ionised gas.
We examine the cosmological and astrophysical signatures of a dark baryon, a neutral fermion that mixes with the neutron. As the mixing is through a higher-dimensional operator at the quark level, production of the dark baryon at high energies is enhanced so that its abundance in the early universe may be significant. Treating its initial abundance as a free parameter, we derive new, powerful limits on the properties of the dark baryon. Primordial nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background provide strong constraints due to the inter-conversion of neutrons to dark baryons through their induced transition dipole, and due to late decays of the dark baryon. Additionally, neutrons in a neutron star could decay slowly to dark baryons, providing a novel source of heat that is constrained by measurements of pulsar temperatures. Taking all the constraints into account, we identify parameter space where the dark baryon can be a viable dark matter candidate and discuss promising avenues for probing it.
We propose a new mission called Space Project for Astrophysical and Cosmological Exploration (SPACE) as part on the ESA long term planning Voyage 2050 programme. SPACE will study galaxy evolution at the earliest times, with the key goals of charting the formation of the heavy elements, measuring the evolution of the galaxy luminosity function, tracing the build-up of stellar mass in galaxies over cosmic time, and finding the first super-massive black holes (SMBHs) to form. The mission will exploit a unique region of the parameter space, between the narrow ultra-deep surveys with HST and JWST, and shallow wide-field surveys such as Roman Space Telescope and EUCLID, and should yield by far the largest sample of any current or planned mission of very high redshift galaxies at z > 10 which are sufficiently bright for detailed follow-up spectroscopy. Crucially, we propose a wide-field spectroscopic near-IR + mid-IR capability which will greatly enhance our understanding of the first galaxies by detecting and identifying a statistical sample of the first galaxies and the first SMBH, and to chart the metal enrichment history of galaxies in the early Universe - potentially finding signatures of the very first stars to form from metal-free primordial gas. The wide-field and wavelength range of SPACE will also provide us a unique opportunity to study star formation by performing a wide survey of the Milky Way in the near-IR + mid-IR. This science project can be enabled either by a stand-alone ESA-led M mission or by an instrument for an L mission (with ESA and/or NASA, JAXA and other international space agencies) with a wide-field (sub-)millimetre capability at wavelength > 500 microns.
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