Design of the PIXIE adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) is a proposed mission to densely map the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. It will operate in a scanning mode from a sun-synchronous orbit, using low temperature detectors (at 0.1 K) and located inside a telescope that is cooled to approximately 2.73 K – to match the background temperature. A mechanical cryocooler operating at 4.5 K establishes a low base temperature from which two adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) assemblies will cool the telescope and detectors. To achieve continuous scanning capability, the ADRs must operate continuously. Complicating the design are two factors: (1) the need to systematically vary the temperature of various telescope components in order to separate the small polarization signal variations from those that may arise from temperature drifts and changing gradients within the telescope, and (2) the orbital and monthly variations in lunar irradiance into the telescope barrels. These factors require the telescope ADR to reject quasi-continuous heat loads of 2–3 mW, while maintaining a peak heat reject rate of less than 12 mW. The detector heat load at 0.1 K is comparatively small at 1–2 μW. This paper will describe the 3-stage and 2-stage continuous ADRs that will be used to meet the cooling power and temperature stability requirements of the PIXIE detectors and telescope.

► PIXIE will perform full sky scans of the polarization of the CMB radiation.
► PIXIE requires continuous cooling of detectors to 100 mK. PIXIE requires continuous cooling of the telescope to 2.725 K.
► PIXIE instrument uses thermal shields and active Stirling/JT cryocoolers.
► 3-stage and 2-stage continuous ADRs meet the requirements.