  EBEX is a balloon-borne polarimeter designed to measure the intensity and
polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The measurements
would probe the inflationary epoch that took place shortly after the big bang
and would significantly improve constraints on the values of several
cosmological parameters. EBEX is unique in its broad frequency coverage and in
its ability to provide critical information about the level of polarized
Galactic foregrounds which will be necessary for all future CMB polarization
experiments. EBEX consists of a 1.5 m Dragone-type telescope that provides a
resolution of less than 8 arcminutes over four focal planes each of 4 degree
diffraction limited field of view at frequencies up to 450 GHz. The experiment
is designed to accommodate 330 transition edge bolometric detectors per focal
plane, for a total of up to 1320 detectors. EBEX will operate with frequency
bands centered at 150, 250, 350, and 450 GHz. Polarimetry is achieved with a
rotating achromatic half-wave plate. EBEX is currently in the design and
construction phase, and first light is scheduled for 2008.
