Probing Inflationary Cosmology with CLASS

用 CLASS 探索暴胀宇宙学

• 批准号: 1302924
• 负责人: Thomas Essinger-Hileman
• 金额: $ 8.9万
• 依托单位: Essinger-Hileman Thomas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-06-01 至 2016-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1302924&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Probing; Inflationary; Cosmology; CLASS

Dr. Thomas Essinger-Hileman is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at Johns Hopkins University. The fellow's research program is to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) with the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS). The proposed research addresses fundamental questions of the origin and nature of the Universe and helps astrophysicists test competing theories of the birth of the Universe. Such measurements were regarded a top scientific priority in the 2010 Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics.This project will facilitate the creation of high-sensitivity polarization and temperature maps of the CMB and directly test inflationary models of the very early, energetic Universe. Cosmological inflation would produce a gravitational-wave background at a level that directly corresponds with the vacuum energy density at the end of inflation. By looking for the odd-parity signature of a gravitational-wave background in the CMB polarization, the so-called "B modes," CLASS will investigate physics on grand-unification-theory (GUT) energy scales of 10^16 GeV. In contrast, the Large Hadron Collider is designed to probe energies up to 7x10^3 GeV. CLASS will form a multi-frequency observatory at a high-altitude site, and it is unique among current and planned ground-based experiments in aiming at the reionization bump in the B-mode power spectrum at large angular scales. The PI will lead the development, commissioning, and field calibration of the 90 GHz receivers for CLASS. This will include the design of a novel focal plane architecture for monolithic arrays of feedhorn-coupled, transition-edge-sensor polarimeters, as well as unique thermal filtering strategies incorporating silicon-powder filters of his own design. The broader impacts of this project include a significant educational component. The fellow will undertake a program of educational outreach in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Educational Outreach to convey exciting developments in cosmology to high school students in a predominantly African-American school district over a two-year period. As the research progresses, the fellow will communicate developments through audio and video media, weblogs, and photographs. He will meet with a group of 10th- and 11th-graders monthly to engage the students in the research happening in the lab and at the telescope in Chile. The presentation materials developed for this program will then be expanded to reach a broader audience through existing programs such as the annual physics fair at Johns Hopkins, as well as through an interactive presentation on the World Wide Telescope web site. This narrative tour of the sky as seen by project telescopes will present the project's results in cosmology to a broad, global audience.

托马斯埃辛格-希尔曼博士被授予美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在约翰霍普金斯大学开展研究和教育计划。 该研究员的研究计划是用宇宙学大角尺度探测器（CLASS）测量宇宙微波背景（CMB）的偏振。 拟议中的研究解决了宇宙起源和性质的基本问题，并帮助天体物理学家测试宇宙诞生的竞争理论。 这类测量被认为是2010年天文学和天体物理学十年期调查的最高科学优先事项，该项目将促进制作宇宙微波背景辐射的高灵敏度偏振和温度图，并直接测试极早期高能宇宙的暴胀模型。 宇宙暴胀将产生一个引力波背景，其水平直接对应于暴胀结束时的真空能量密度。 通过寻找宇宙微波背景波偏振中引力波背景的奇宇称特征，即所谓的“B模”，CLASS将研究10^16 GeV能量尺度上的大统一理论（GUT）物理。 相比之下，大型强子对撞机的设计探测能量高达7x10^3 GeV。 CLASS将在一个高海拔地点形成一个多频观测站，它在目前和计划中的地面实验中是独一无二的，目的是在大角度尺度上研究B型功率谱中的再电离凸起。 PI将领导CLASS 90 GHz接收机的开发、调试和现场校准。 这将包括一个新的焦平面架构的设计，单片阵列的喇叭耦合，过渡边缘传感器偏振计，以及独特的热过滤策略，结合自己设计的硅粉末过滤器。 该项目的更广泛影响包括一个重要的教育部分。 该研究员将与约翰霍普金斯教育外展中心合作开展一项教育外展计划，在两年的时间里向一个以非洲裔美国人为主的学区的高中生传达宇宙学方面令人兴奋的发展。 随着研究的进展，该研究员将通过音频和视频媒体、博客和照片交流进展情况。 他将每月与一群10年级和11年级的学生会面，让学生参与实验室和智利望远镜的研究。 然后将扩大为该方案编制的介绍材料，以便通过现有的方案，如约翰霍普金斯大学的年度物理学博览会，以及通过万维网望远镜网站上的交互式介绍，向更广泛的受众提供这些材料。 这场由项目望远镜所看到的天空叙事之旅将向全球广泛的观众展示该项目在宇宙学方面的成果。