Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Experiments

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Abstract
We discuss the analysis of polarization experiments with particular emphasis on those that measure the Stokes parameters in a ring on the sky. We discuss the ability of these experiments to separate the E and B contributions to the polarization signal. The experiment being developed at the University of Wisconsin is studied in detail. It will be sensitive to both Stokes parameters and will concentrate on large-scale polarization, scanning a 47° ring. We will also consider as another example an experiment that measures one of the Stokes parameters in a 1° ring. We find that for reasonable integration times the small-ring experiment will be able to detect cosmological polarization for some models consistent with the current temperature anisotropy data. In most cosmological models, large-scale polarization is too small to be detected by the Wisconsin experiment. This experiment will measure both Stokes parameters, implying that it can produce separate constraints on E and B polarization.
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