Simulating instrumental systematics of Cosmic Microwave Background experiments with s4cmb

Abstract

The observation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies is one of the key probes of the standard cosmological model (Hu & Dodelson, 2002). The weak CMB polarization signal in particular can provide a new window to study the process of the growth of structures in the universe (galaxies, galaxy clusters, etc.) through weak gravitational lensing as well as on the physics of the inflationary epoch in the primordial universe. The low amplitude of CMB polarization has pushed CMB science toward the construction of increasingly sensitive experiments observing in multiple frequencies and employing telescopes with complex optical designs and focal planes with thousands of bolometric detectors operating in cryogenic environments (Staggs et al., 2018). To fully utilize the sensitivity of these instruments for cosmology, the instrumental systematic effects must be well-characterized, understood, and mitigated in the instrument design and through the analysis of the acquired data.