CLOVER array

Clover is a new instrument which has been designed to measure the B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background down to a sensitivity limited by the foreground contamination due to lensing, allowing the detection of primordial gravitational waves in the Universe. It will consist of three independent telescopes operating at 90, 150 and 220 GHz sited at Dome C, Antarctica each of which will implement large format focal-plane arrays of bolometric detectors. WMAP image of the CMB anisotropy,Cosmic microwave background radiation(June 2003) The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is a form of electromagnetic radiation that fills the whole of the universe. ... A gravitational lens is formed when the light from a very distant, bright source (such as a quasar) is bent around a massive object (such as a massive galaxy) between the source object and the observer. ... In physics, gravitational radiation is energy that is transmitted through waves in the gravitational field of space-time, according to Albert Einsteins theory of general relativity: The Einstein field equations imply that any accelerated mass radiates energy this way, in the same way as the Maxwell equations that any... Dome C, also known as Dome Circe or Dome Charlie, ( 75° S 123° E) is a local feature of the Antarctic Plateau, and site of the Concordia scientific station. ...

Clover was approved for funding in 2005 and it is hoped that the full telescope will be operational by 2008. The project is jointly run by Cardiff University and the Cavendish Astrophysics Group. Cardiff University (Welsh: Prifysgol Caerdydd) is a university in Cardiff. ...