Atmospheric monitoring in the millimetre and submillimetre bands for cosmological observations: CASPER2

Cosmological observations from ground at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths are affected by atmospheric absorption and consequent emission. The low- and high-frequency (sky-noise) fluctuations of atmospheric performance necessitate careful observational strategies and/or instrumental technical solutions. Measurements of atmospheric emission spectra are necessary for accurate calibration procedures as well as for site-testing statistics. CASPER2, an instrument designed to explore the 90-450 GHz (3-15 cm-1) spectral region, was developed and had its operation verified in the Alps. A Martin-Puplett interferometer (MPI) operates by comparing sky radiation, coming from a field of view (FOV) of 28 arcmin (full width at half-maximum) and collected by a 62-cm-diameter Pressman-Camichel telescope, with a reference source. The signals at the two output ports of the interferometer are detected by two bolometers cooled to 300 mK inside a wet cryostat. Three different but complementary interferometric techniques can be performed with CASPER2: amplitude modulation (AM), fast-scan (FS) and phase modulation (PM). An altazimuthal mount allows sky pointing, possibly co-aligned with the optical axis of the 2.6-m-diameter telescope of MITO (Millimetre and Infrared Testagrigia Observatory, Italy). The optimal time-scale to average acquired spectra is inferred by Allan variance analysis at five fiducial frequencies. We present the motivation for and design of the atmospheric spectrometer CASPER2. The procedure adopted to calibrate the instrument and the preliminary performance of it are described. Instrument capabilities were checked during the summer observational campaign at MITO in 2010 July by measuring atmospheric emission spectra with the three procedures.