Novel Millimeter-Wavelength Spectrometers for Studying the Epoch of Reionization

我的研究计划的长期目标是通过开发和使用先进的毫米波长仪器来研究早期宇宙（大爆炸后<10亿年）。我将在我的实验室开发仪器，并将这些仪器部署在全球的望远镜上，以研究星系在再电离时期（EoR）的辐射。使用这些开创性的仪器进行测量将大大提高我们对天体物理学，宇宙学和宇宙大尺度结构的理解，所有这些都是自然科学和工程领域的挑战。这项研究的目标有两个方面：（1）通过完成、测试和部署TIME，对早期宇宙中星系的电离碳（CII）进行开创性的测量（层析电离碳强度测绘实验）[1]，一种新型的毫米波长仪器;（2）利用开拓者TIME的专业知识和技术开发下一代毫米波长光谱仪的技术，这将使得能够实现与EoR的其它探测器的关键互相关。 完成这些目标将使我们能够理解大爆炸后2亿年到1亿年之间的宇宙（6 < z < 20），当时第一批重子物体坍缩成暗物质晕，点燃了第一批恒星，并产生了足够的高能光子来重新点燃周围的中性氢气。EoR时代的物理学在很大程度上是未知的，因为它是最具观测挑战性的时代之一。必须填补这个基本上未知的时代，以了解我们宇宙的演化，以及宇宙如何从原始状态发展到我们今天居住的恒星和星系的复杂多样的环境。我的研究计划专注于开发最先进的仪器和分析来探索这个时代。 我的研究将对该领域产生长期影响，通过先进的望远镜仪器和新颖的观测探测器来领导发现。[CII]线强度测绘技术是观测宇宙学的一个前沿新领域，[CII]信号的探测将为建立更强大的地基和天基测绘仪器平台以及为在加拿大培训具有这一学科专门知识的下一代高素质人员奠定坚实的基础。参考文献：[1] A. T. Crites等人，Proc. SPIE 9153，毫米、亚毫米和远红外探测器和天文仪器VII，91531 W（2014年8月）。

The long term goal of my research program is to investigate the early universe (< 1 billion years after the Big Bang) through the development and use of advanced mm-wavelength instruments. I will develop instruments in my laboratory and deploy these instruments on telescopes located globally to study emission from galaxies during the epoch of reionization (EoR). Measurements made with these pioneering instruments will significantly enhance our understanding of astrophysics, cosmology, and the large-scale structure of the universe, all of which are challenges that lie within the natural sciences and engineering. The objectives of the proposed research are twofold: (1) make pioneering measurements of ionized carbon [CII] from galaxies in the early universe by completing, testing, and deploying TIME (Tomographic Ionized Carbon Intensity Mapping Experiment) [1], a novel mm-wavelength instrument; (2) to develop technology for next-generation mm-wavelength spectrometers using expertise and techniques from the pathfinder TIME, which will enable key cross-correlations with other probes of the EoR. Completing these objectives will allow us to understand the universe between 200 Myr and 1 Gyr after the Big Bang (6 < z < 20) when the first baryonic objects collapsed in dark matter halos, ignited the first stars, and produced enough energetic photons to reionize the surrounding neutral hydrogen gas. The physics during this epoch, the EoR, is largely unknown as it is one of the most observationally challenging epochs to study. It is essential to fill in this largely unknown epoch to understand the evolution of our universe and how the universe went from a primordial state to the complex, diverse environment of stars and galaxies we inhabit today. My research program is focused on developing state-of-the-art instrumentation and analysis to probe this epoch. My research will have a long-term impact on the field by leading discovery through advancing telescope instrumentation and novel observational probes. The [CII] line intensity mapping technique is a cutting edge new field of observational cosmology, and detection of the [CII] signal will set a strong foundation for building more powerful ground- and space-based mapping instrument platforms and for training the next generation of highly qualified personnel in Canada with expertise in this discipline. References: [1] A. T. Crites et al.Proc. SPIE 9153, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII, 91531W (August 2014).