Session Y3: Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization

Results from the QUaD Experiment

The QUaD (QUEST at DASI) experiment comprises a 31-pixel polarization-sensitive bolometric camera mounted on a 2.6m telescope at the South Pole that operated between 2005 and 2007. The goal of QUaD was measurements of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) on angular scales larger than 5 arcmins. I will summarize the key results from QUaD including detailed measurements of E-modes of polarization, their implications for cosmological parameters, and QUaD limits on other effects such as the much fainter B-modes of polarization.   

Measurements of the CMB Polarization with WMAP

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has mapped the whole sky in temperature and polarization in five frequency bands between 20 and 100 GHz. In this talk we focus on the WMAP polarization measurements and what they tell us about both foreground emission and cosmology. We also briefly discuss the prospects for future polarization measurements.