Polarimetry of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation: An Integrated Plan for Research, Education, and Professional Development

Keating, Brian G, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

Prop : AST-0104553 PI: Keating, Brian Dr. Keating is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship out a program of research, education, and public outreach at California Institute of Technology. His research program focuses on studies of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) provides a snapshot of the epoch at which radiation and matter decoupled, approximately 300,000 years after the Big Bang. The spectrum, spatial anisotropy, and polarization of the CMB can constrain theories of cosmological structure formation. He will work to develop and deploy novel polarization-sensitive detector systems, such as the Polatron, which is designed to measure CMB polarization at arc-minute scales, where the signal is expected to be at a maximum. He also plans a program of education and outreach that will introduce students to astronomy through the construction of a small radio telescope, which is used as payload in a mock Earth orbiting satellite. The program will bring astronomy education to a low socio-economic region in Southern California and will be developed as a model that can be duplicated in other schools. ***