SPTpol: Early Characterization

Over the summer several of us involved in the design, testing and development, deployment, and data analysis of the SPTpol project published some papers about the then current status of the camera and data in the SPIE conference proceedings.  A ton of work has been done since these papers were submitted, but it should give you a good idea of how well the camera is working.  Here's a list of links to versions of all our papers available on the arXiv:
Austermann, et al. 2012 - SPTpol: an instrument for CMB polarization measurements with the South Pole Telescope
de Haan, et al. 2012 - Improved Performance of TES Bolometers using Digital Feedback
George, et al. 2012 - Performance and on-sky optical characterization of the SPTpol instrument
Henning, et al. 2012 - Feedhorn-coupled TES polarimeter camera modules at 150 GHz for CMB polarization measurements with SPTpol
Sayre, et al. 2012 - Design and characterization of 90 GHz feedhorn-coupled TES polarimeter pixels in the SPTpol camera
Story, et al. 2012 - South Pole Telescope Software Systems: Control, Monitoring, and Data Acquisition

The papers are fairly technical, but if you're interested in how the camera works, how it was designed and why, and how it's performing these are great places to look.  Obviously a lot of work goes into a project like this and these papers represent only the tip of the iceberg!  Within the coming months and year we should have several science papers being prepared for release.  SPTpol results are going to blow. your. mind.

That Time of Year Again

It feels like I only just got back but I'm off to the Pole again in just 11 short days.  Where did this year go?  The telescope and the new camera are collecting data 24/7 and we're seeing some exciting stuff - more on that in the future.  There are some improvements we want to make, though, so I'm deploying again with my friends and colleagues from last year to upgrade the camera for the next phase of the project: a 3-year survey of the CMB attempting to detect polarization from gravitational waves for the first time.  Very exciting!

I CAN get mail at the Pole, and would love to get a postcard or package.  If you're interested in sending something to the bottom of the Earth, my address is:

Jason Henning

South Pole Station: A-379-S

PSC 768 Box 400

APO AP 96598

It can take a few weeks for mail to arrive, so please make sure to send things before December 15th.  I promise I'll send a post card to anyone who mails me something!

I'll be posting again soon, so keep your eyes peeled.