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We discuss MAXIPOL, a bolometric balloon-borne experiment designed to measure the E-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). MAXIPOL is the first bolometric CMB experiment to observe the sky using rapid polarization modulation. To build MAXIPOL, the CMB temperature anisotropy experiment MAXIMA was retrofitted with a rotating half-wave plate and a stationary analyzer. We describe the instrument, the observations, the calibration, and the reduction of data collected with 12 polarimeters operating at 140 GHz and with a FWHM beam size of 10 0 . We present maps of the Q and U Stokes parameters of an 8 deg 2 region of the sky near the star UMi. The power spectra computed from these maps give weak evidence for an EE signal. The maximum likelihood amplitude of '(' þ 1)C EE ' /2 is 55 þ51 À45 K 2 (68%), and the likelihood function is asymmetric and skewed positive such that with a uniform prior the probability that the amplitude is positive is 96%. This result is consistent with the expected concordance ÃCDM amplitude of 14 K 2 . The maximum likelihood amplitudes for '(' þ 1)C BB ' /2 and '(' þ 1)C EB ' /2 are À31 þ31 À19 and 18 þ27 À34 K 2 (68%), respectively, which are consistent with zero. All of the results are for one bin in the range 151 ' 693. Tests revealed no residual systematic errors in the time or map domain. A comprehensive discussion of the analysis of the data is presented in a companion paper.

EBEX is a NASA-funded balloon-borne experiment designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Observations will be made using 1432 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometric detectors read out with frequency multiplexed SQuIDs. EBEX will observe in three frequency bands centered at 150, 250, and 410 GHz, with 768, 384, and 280 detectors in each band, respectively. This broad frequency coverage is designed to provide valuable information about polarized foreground signals from dust. The polarized sky signals will be modulated with an achromatic half wave plate (AHWP) rotating on a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) and analyzed with a fixed wire grid polarizer. EBEX will observe a patch covering ∼1% of the sky with 8' resolution, allowing for observation of the angular power spectrum from = 20 to 1000. This will allow EBEX to search for both the primordial B-mode signal predicted by inflation and the anticipated lensing B-mode signal. Calculations to predict EBEX constraints on r using expected noise levels show that, for a likelihood centered around zero and with negligible foregrounds, 99% of the area falls below r = 0.035. This value increases by a factor of 1.6 after a process of foreground subtraction. This estimate does not include systematic uncertainties. An engineering flight was launched in June, 2009, from Ft. Sumner, NM, and the long duration science flight in Antarctica is planned for 2011. These proceedings describe the EBEX instrument and the North American engineering flight.

Abstract. We present comparison principles, Lipschitz estimates and study state constraints problems for degenerate, second-order Hamilton-Jacobi equations.

We report on a measurement of the angular spectrum of the anisotropy of the microwave sky at 30 and 40 GHz between l = 50 and l = 200. The data, covering roughly 600 deg 2 , support a rise in the angular spectrum to a maximum with δT l ≈ 85 µK at l = 200. We also give a 2-sigma upper limit of δT l < 122 µK at l = 432 at 144 GHz. These results come from the first campaign of the Mobile Anisotropy Telescope (MAT) on Cerro Toco, Chile. To assist in assessing the site, we present plots of the fluctuations in atmospheric emission at 30 and 144 GHz.