AMiBA
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| Location(s) | Hawaii County, Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 19°32′10″N 155°34′31″W / 19.536194°N 155.575278°W |
| Altitude | 3,396 m (11,142 ft) |
| Wavelength | 3 mm (86–102 GHz) |
| Built | 2000–2006 |
| First light | September 2006  |
| Telescope style | Interferometer |
| Diameter | 0.576 m |
| Angular resolution | 6 arcminute, 2 arcminute |
| Mounting | Hexapod platform |
| Enclosure | Retractable shelter |
| Website | amiba.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw |
  Location of Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy | |
 Related media on Commons | |
The Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA), also known as the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy, is a radio telescope designed to observe the cosmic microwave background and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies. It is located on Mauna Loa in Hawaii and started observations in October 2006. AMiBA is the result of a collaboration between the Academia Sinicia Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the National Taiwan University and the Australia Telescope National Facility.[1]
Design
AMiBA is a 7-element interferometer, using 0.576 m Cassegrain dishes mounted on a 6 m carbon fibre hexapod mount. It is located at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, and observes at 3mm (86–102 GHz)to minimize foregrounds. The telescope has a retractable shelter, made from seven steel trusses and PVC fabric.[1]
The receivers are based on Monolithing Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology, with low noise amplifiers cooled to 15 K, which have 20 GHz bandwidths. The signals are mixed with a local oscillator to reduce their frequency, prior to correlation with an analog correlator. The system temperatures are between 55 and 75 K.[1]
AMiBA started in 2000, with a 2-element prototype set up on MAuna Loa in 2002. The mount arrived on site in 2004, and the platform was installed in 2005. The first 7 elements were then installed, and the telescope's first light was in September 2006, observing Jupiter. The telescope was dedicated in October 2006 to Yuan-Tseh Lee. The array will be upgraded to have thirteen 1.2 m dishes by 2009.[1]
Observations
The primary goal of AMiBA is to observe both the temperature and polarization anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background at multipoles between 800 and 8,000 (corresponding to between 2 and 20 arcminutes on the sky), as well as observing the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies. In its initial configuration, it measures up to multipoles of 3,000[1]
6 clusters were imaged in 2007: the Abell clusters 1689, 1995, 2142, 2163, 2261 and 2390. For the largest four of these, comparisons were made with X-ray and Subaru weak lensing data to study the cluster layout and radial properties.[1]