Measurements of E-Mode Polarization and Temperature-E-Mode Correlation in the Cosmic Microwave Background from 100 Square Degrees of SPTpol Data

We present measurements of $E$-mode polarization and temperature-$E$-mode correlation in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using data from the first season of observations with SPTpol, the polarization-sensitive receiver currently installed on the South Pole Telescope (SPT). The observations used in this work cover 100~sqdeg of sky with arcminute resolution at $150,$GHz. We report the $E$-mode angular auto-power spectrum ($EE$) and the temperature-$E$-mode angular cross-power spectrum ($TE$) over the multipole range $500 < ell leq5000$. These power spectra improve on previous measurements in the high-$ell$ (small-scale) regime. We fit the combination of the SPTpol power spectra, data from planck, and previous SPT measurements with a six-parameter LCDM cosmological model. We find that the best-fit parameters are consistent with previous results. The improvement in high-$ell$ sensitivity over previous measurements leads to a significant improvement in the limit on polarized point-source power: after masking sources brighter than 50,mJy in unpolarized flux at 150,GHz, we find a 95% confidence upper limit on unclustered point-source power in the $EE$ spectrum of $D_ell = ell (ell+1) C_ell / 2 pi < 0.40 mu{mbox{K}}^2$ at $ell=3000$, indicating that future $EE$ measurements will not be limited by power from unclustered point sources in the multipole range $ell < 3600$, and possibly much higher in $ell.$

Feedhorn-coupled TES polarimeter camera modules at 150 GHz for CMB polarization measurements with SPTpol

The SPTpol camera is a dichroic polarimetric receiver at 90 and 150 GHz. Deployed in January 2012 on the South Pole Telescope (SPT), SPTpol is looking for faint polarization signals in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The camera consists of 180 individual Transition Edge Sensor (TES) polarimeters at 90 GHz and seven 84-polarimeter camera modules (a total of 588 polarimeters) at 150 GHz. We present the design, dark characterization, and in-lab optical properties of the 150 GHz camera modules. The modules consist of photolithographed arrays of TES polarimeters coupled to silicon platelet arrays of corrugated feedhorns, both of which are fabricated at NIST-Boulder. In addition to mounting hardware and RF shielding, each module also contains a set of passive readout electronics for digital frequency-domain multiplexing. A single module, therefore, is fully functional as a miniature focal plane and can be tested independently. Across the modules tested before deployment, the detectors average a critical temperature of 478 mK, normal resistance R_N of 1.2 Ohm, unloaded saturation power of 22.5 pW, (detector-only) optical efficiency of ~ 90%, and have electrothermal time constants < 1 ms in transition.