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Low-loss deposited dielectrics are beneficial for the advancement of superconducting integrated circuits for astronomy. In the microwave band ($\mathrm{\sim}$1$\unicode{x2013}$10 GHz) the cryogenic and low-power dielectric loss is dominated by two-level systems. However, the origin of the loss in the millimeter-submillimeter band ($\mathrm{\sim}$0.1$\unicode{x2013}$1 THz) is not understood. We measured the loss of hydrogenated amorphous SiC (a-SiC:H) films in the 0.27$\unicode{x2013}$100 THz range using superconducting microstrip resonators and Fourier-transform spectroscopy. The agreement between the loss data and a Maxwell-Helmholtz-Drude dispersion model suggests that vibrational modes above 10 THz dominate the loss in the a-SiC:H above 200 GHz.

Polarization imaging can yield crucial information in multiple applications of remote sensing, such as characterization of clouds, aerosols, and the Aurora Borealis. Some applications require sub-percent polarimetric sensitivity and accuracy in determining the Stokes parameters, which can be a challenge to attain. In 2018, Sony released a low-cost CMOS-based imaging chip with integrated micro-polarizer array for general polarization measurements. We implement the calibration steps required for these Sony chips to reach sub-percent polarimetric accuracies. To analyze their performances, we have compared the characteristics of four different detector packages by three manufacturers housing either the monochromatic version or the RGB color variant. We present a comprehensive overview of the effects that these characteristics have on the polarimetric performance of the camera. They include dark noise, behavior over different gain settings, detector/pixel artifacts, and polarimetric effects determined by polarizer extinction ratios, polarizer orientations, and accuracy of polarimetric zero points due to differential pixel gains. In addition to calibrations using unpolarized light and fully linearly polarized light, we assess the polarimetric sensitivity within a tilting and rotating glass-plate set-up. We discuss the benefits of adding a rotating half-wave plate as an additional temporal modulator to generically mitigate some of the detector effects, and achieve better polarimetric sensitivity/accuracy albeit at the expense of lower temporal resolution. We conclude by presenting and discussing the polarimetric limits to which we were able to calibrate the detector effects for practical purposes. By reaching a compound absolute polarimetric uncertainty of less than a percent, these very compact, low-cost detectors are enabled for a multitude of scientific goals., Comment: Conference proceeding for SPIE Polarization: Measurement, Analysis, and Remote Sensing XVI, 31 pages, 21 figures

We provide a foundation for working with homological and homotopical methods in categorical algebra. This involves two mutually complementary components, namely (a) the strategic selection of suitable axiomatic frameworks, some well known and some new, and (b) the development of categorical tools for effective reasoning and computing within those frameworks. The selection of axiomatic frameworks begins `from the ground up' with z-exact categories. These are pointed categories in which every morphism has a kernel and cokernel. Then we progress all the way to abelian categories, en route meeting contexts such as Borceux--Bourn homological categories and Janelidze--M\'arki--Tholen semiabelian categories. We clarify the relationship between these axiomatic frameworks by direct comparison, but also by explaining how concrete examples fit into the selection. The outcome is a fine-grained set of criteria by which one can map varieties of algebras (in the sense of Universal Algebra) and topological models of algebraic theories into the various frameworks. The categorical tools for effective computation deal mostly with situations involving universal factorizations of morphisms, with exact sequences, and with the homology of chain complexes. Further, the categorical tools for computation include the `basic diagram lemmas' of homological algebra, that is the (Short) $5$-Lemma, the $(3\times 3)$-Lemma, the Snake Lemma, and applications thereof. We find that these tools are even available in some surprisingly weak categorical environments, such as the category of pointed sets. In discovering such features, we make systematic use of what we call the self-dual axis of a category., Comment: vii+343 pages; minor changes throughout the text; added material on exact and abelian categories. This is a living document, whose scope will be expanded: we welcome any comments and suggestions you may have