The Baryon acoustic oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations (BINGO) telescope is a 40-m class radio telescope under construction that has been designed to measure the large-angular-scale intensity of Hi emission at 980-1260 MHz and hence to constrain dark energy parameters. A large focal plane array comprising of 1.7-metre diameter, 4.3-metre length corrugated feed horns is required in order to optimally illuminate the telescope. Additionally, very clean beams with low sidelobes across a broad frequency range are required, in order to facilitate the separation of the faint Hi emission from bright Galactic foreground emission. Using novel construction methods,

Context. Observing the neutral hydrogen (Hi ) distribution across the Universe via redshifted 21cm line intensity mapping (IM) constitutes a powerful probe for cosmology. However, the redshifted 21cm signal is obscured by the foreground emission from our Galaxy and other extragalactic foregrounds. This paper addresses the capabilities of the BINGO survey to separate such signals.Aims. We show that the BINGO instrumental, optical, and simulations setup is suitable for component separation, and that we have the appropriate tools to understand and control foreground residuals. Specifically, this paper looks in detail at the different residuals left over by foreground components, shows that a noise-corrected spectrum is unbiased, and shows that we understand the remaining systematic residuals by analyzing nonzero contributions to the three-point function. Methods. We use the generalized needlet internal linear combination (GNILC), which we apply to sky simulations of the BINGO experiment for each redshift bin of the survey. We use binned estimates of the bispectrum of the maps to assess foreground residuals left over after component separation in the final map. Results. We present our recovery of the redshifted 21cm signal from sky simulations of the BINGO experiment, including foreground components. We test the recovery of the 21cm signal through the angular power spectrum at different redshifts, as well as the recovery of its non-Gaussian distribution through a bispectrum analysis. We find that non-Gaussianities from the original foreground maps can be removed down to, at least, the noise limit of the BINGO survey with such techniques. Conclusions. Our component separation methodology allows us to subtract the foreground contamination in the BINGO channels down to levels below the cosmological signal and the noise, and to reconstruct the 21cm power spectrum for different redshift bins without significant loss at multipoles 20 500. Our bispectrum analysis yields strong tests of the level of the residual foreground contamination in the recovered 21cm signal, thereby allowing us to both optimize and validate our component separation analysis.

Aims. The large-scale distribution of neutral hydrogen (Hi) in the Universe is luminous through its 21 cm emission. The goal of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations -BINGO -radio telescope is to detect baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) at radio frequencies through 21 cm intensity mapping (IM). The telescope will span the redshift range 0.127 < z < 0.449 with an instantaneous field-of-view of 14.75 • × 6.0 • . Methods. In this work we investigate different constructive and operational scenarios of the instrument by generating sky maps as they would be produced by the instrument. In doing this we use a set of end-to-end IM mission simulations. The maps will additionally be used to evaluate the efficiency of a component separation method (GNILC). Results. We have simulated the kind of data that would be produced in a single-dish IM experiment such as BINGO. According to the results obtained, we have optimized the focal plane design of the telescope. In addition, the application of the GNILC method on simulated data shows that it is feasible to extract the cosmological signal across a wide range of multipoles and redshifts. The results are comparable with the standard principal component analysis method.

Context. The Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations (BINGO) telescope was designed to measure the fluctuations of the 21 cm radiation arising from the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen. It is also aimed at measuring the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) from such fluctuations, thereby serving as a pathfinder to future, deeper intensity mapping surveys. The requirements for the Phase 1 of the projects consider a large reflector system (two 40 m-class dishes in a crossed-Dragone configuration) illuminating a focal plane with 28 horns to measure the sky, with two circular polarizations in a drift scan mode to produce measurements of the radiation in intensity (I) as well as the circular (V) polarization. Aims. In this paper, we present the optical design for the instrument. We describe the optical arrangement of the horns in the focal plane to produce a homogeneous and well-sampled map after the end of Phase 1, as well as the intensity and polarization properties of the beams. Our analysis provides an optimal model for the location of the horns in the focal plane, producing a homogeneous and Nyquist-sampled map after the nominal survey time. Methods. We used the GRASP package to model the focal plane arrangement and performed several optimization tasks to arrive at the current configuration, including an estimation of the sidelobes corresponding to the diffraction patterns of the two mirrors. The final model for the focal plane was defined through a combination of neural network and other direct optimization methods. Results. We arrived at an optimal configuration for the optical system that includes the focal plane positioning and the beam behavior of the instrument. We present an estimate of the expected sidelobes both for intensity and polarization, as well as the effect of band averaging on the final sidelobes, as well as an estimation of the cross-polarization leakage for the final configuration. Conclusions. We conclude that the chosen optical design meets the requirements for the project in terms of polarization purity and area coverage as well as a homogeneity of coverage so that BINGO can perform a successful BAO experiment. We further conclude that the requirements on the placement and rms error on the mirrors are also achievable so that a successful experiment can be conducted.

Context. The measurement of diffuse 21-cm radiation from the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen (Hi signal) in different redshifts is an important tool for modern cosmology. However, detecting this faint signal with non-cryogenic receivers in single-dish telescopes is a challenging task. The BINGO (Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations) radio telescope is an instrument designed to detect baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs) in the cosmological Hi signal, in the redshift interval 0.127 ≤ z ≤ 0.449. Aims. This paper describes the BINGO radio telescope, including the current status of the optics, receiver, observational strategy, calibration, and the site. Methods. BINGO has been carefully designed to minimize systematics, being a transit instrument with no moving dishes and 28 horns operating in the frequency range 980 ≤ ν ≤ 1260 MHz. Comprehensive laboratory tests were conducted for many of the BINGO subsystems and the prototypes of the receiver chain, horn, polarizer, magic tees, and transitions have been successfully tested between 2018-2020. The survey was designed to cover ∼ 13% of the sky, with the primary mirror pointing at declination δ = −15 • . The telescope will see an instantaneous declination strip of 14.75 • . Results. The results of the prototype tests closely meet those obtained during the modeling process, suggesting BINGO will perform according to our expectations. After one year of observations with a 60% duty cycle and 28 horns, BINGO should achieve an expected sensitivity of 102 µK per 9.33 MHz frequency channel, one polarization, and be able to measure the Hi power spectrum in a competitive time frame.