The Big Bang explosion at the beginning of the Universe left behind a glow of radiation in microwaves. Scientists using the next generation of microwave telescopes will study this radiation for signatures of primordial gravitational waves that are theorized but as yet unseen. These waves were created by quantum fluctuations during the Universe's first moments, and finding them would push the frontiers of physics. This project will develop mathematical, statistical, and computational tools to better map and analyze the data from these telescope measurements. It helps sponsor the research and training of the next generation of scientists at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral level. To ensure that exciting developments in early Universe research reach the broader community, this project focuses on attracting new students to STEM disciplines with public talks and school visits, college-level curriculum development, and high-quality STEM student mentoring.
This project will advance the state of the art for Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) analysis tools, with a focus on understanding and developing the role of the new "messenger method" approach to map-making and filtering. It will develop messenger map-making into a production-ready tool and apply it to data. Ground-based CMB observatories produce maps with complex, anisotropic noise correlations. Messenger methods can account for wider varieties of such correlations and serve as the basis for new power spectrum estimation tools. Additionally, messenger methods may allow for multiple tracers of the large-scale matter field to be combined with CMB lensing into a single tomographic matter atlas. The well-characterized synthesis of a mass map from multiple tracers is important for the epoch of wide field cosmology surveys. This project will promote the existing "Saturday Morning Physics" outreach lecture series at Florida State University and other K-12 activities. Furthermore, training of students, including undergraduates, helps to prepare the next generation of STEM workers.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
