The Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC): A Mission Concept Study for NASA's Einstein Inflation Probe

James Bock; Asantha Cooray; Shaul Hanany; Brian Keating; Adrian Lee; Tomotake Matsumura; Michael Milligan; Nicolas Ponthieu; Tom Renbarger; Huan Tran

arXiv · 0805.4207

The Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC): A Mission Concept Study for NASA's Einstein Inflation Probe

James Bock·Asantha Cooray·Shaul Hanany·Brian Keating·Adrian Lee·Tomotake Matsumura·Michael Milligan·Nicolas Ponthieu·Tom Renbarger·Huan Tran

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Abstract

This is the Phase 1 Report on the Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC), a mission concept study for NASA's Einstein Inflation Probe. When we began our study we sought to answer five fundamental implementation questions: 1) can foregrounds be measured and subtracted to a sufficiently low level?; 2) can systematic errors be controlled?; 3) can we develop optics with sufficiently large throughput, low polarization, and frequency coverage from 30 to 300 GHz?; 4) is there a technical path to realizing the sensitivity and systematic error requirements?; and 5) what are the specific mission architecture parameters, including cost? Detailed answers to these questions are contained in this report. Currently in Phase 2, we are exploring a mission concept targeting a ~2m aperture, in between the two options described in the current report with a small (~30 cm) and large (~4m) missions.

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BibTeX RIS

James Bock, Asantha Cooray, Shaul Hanany, Brian Keating, Adrian Lee, Tomotake Matsumura, Michael Milligan, Nicolas Ponthieu, Tom Renbarger, Huan Tran. 2008-05-27. The Experimental Probe of Inflationary Cosmology (EPIC): A Mission Concept Study for NASA's Einstein Inflation Probe. https://arxiv.org/abs/0805.4207

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