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MUSTANG Flyer for Summer 2008 AAS Meeting

MUSTANG

The Multiplexed SQUID TES Array for Ninety Gigahertz (MUSTANG) is a 64-pixel TES bolometer array which has been developed by the University of Pennsylvania, NASA-GSFC, NIST, and the NRAO for use as a facility instrument on the GBT. It uses a pulse tube cooler and closed-cycle Helium 3 and Helium 4 sorption fridges to cool the focal plane to under 300 mK, and SQUID multiplexing electronics for the readout. The excellent angular resolution and surface-brightness sensitivity of the GBT, coupled with MUSTANG, will enable groundbreaking studies of the SZ effect, high-redshift galaxies, and star formation in our own galaxy and nearby galaxies.

• An image of the MUSTANG 64 pixel TES detector array:
  

Status and Availability

• First light was achieved in engineering observations taken in the fall of 2006. These observations verified the basic functionality of all systems, and their integration with the GBT, and facilitated the development of observing and data analysis techniques. The sensitivity of the instrument was greatly improved in the spring and summer following first light observations, and further commissioning exercises were carried out in Winter of 2008/2009. Tests thus far have shown that MUSTANG operates robustly on the GBT; the total time to tune and bias the SQUIDs and detectors, for instance, is only about 15 minutes, and the number of useful detectors in a given run is between 50 and 57 (80 - 90 % yield). Images of the Crab SNR and Orion collected during commissioning and early science observations are shown here.

• MUSTANG was available for shared risk observing proposals in the June 1st proposal call and will be available in future proposal calls. The demonstrated performance of MUSTANG, and the GBT itself, are such that a 3'x3' area can be imaged to 2.5 mJy RMS in an hour. As described in the "Development Plans" section of this poster work is underway to improve this further.

For further information about MUSTANG contact Brian Mason (bmason * nrao.edu). New developments about the project and information concerning proposals is maintained at

http://www.gb.nrao.edu/mustang/

• Multi-Frequency Image of Orion-S/KL region including VLA 9 GHz (RED), MUSTANG 90 GHz (Green), and Spitzer 8 micron (Blue) data.
  

• MUSTANG Image of the Crab SNR Remnant. Map size is 8'x8'.
  

Development Plans

The NRAO staff and the instrument team are working on several fronts to improve MUSTANG's capabilities, with aims to:

• Improve integration of MUSTANG control and observing software with the GBT systems
• Develop and test automatic SQUID tuning and detector biasing algorithms
• Improve data analysis and calibration algorithms, and provide an easy-to-use data reduction pipeline
• execute a campaign of traditional, phase-coherent holography to improve the GBT surface efficiency by at least a factor of two
• develop techniques for rapid, realtime primary aperture phase error correction using Out-of-Focus holography, potentially enabling daytime 3mm observing with the GBT
• field new detector arrays, improving per-pixel sensitivities by at least a factor of two, and increasing the number of pixels by at least a factor of four.

-- BrianMason - 16 May 2008

Attachment:	Action:	Size:	Date:	Who:	Comment:
vlaMustangIracBsmF.jpg	action	72841	16 May 2008 - 15:55	BrianMason
crabDirty.jpg	action	127619	16 May 2008 - 16:00	BrianMason
array.jpg	action	1015808	19 May 2008 - 18:11	BrianMason