This award supported the development of novel instrumentation for the CCAT Observatory between 2022-2024, facilitating the upcoming deployment of new superconducting detectors for millimeter and submillimeter observations to make transformative measurements for cosmology, astronomy and astrophysics. The award also enabled the development of analysis tools for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the Simons Observatory, and CCAT, which will use small fluctuations in the light from the CMB to provide new measurements of galaxy halo peculiar velocities for novel constraints on neutrino mass, dark energy, and models of galaxy formation. 

The PI led the development and testing of Mod-Cam, a first light instrument for the CCAT Observatory's Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST), as well as the first (280 GHz) camera module for CCAT. Cryogenic testing of Mod-Cam was performed, the module mechanical structures were completed, and the module was installed in Mod-Cam for the first time for cryogenic dark testing. This award played a pivotal role in developing this instrument, which will be deployed for early science measurements on FYST in the coming year. By developing and deploying kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) in Mod-Cam, we will demonstrate background-limited sensitivity with KIDs at one of the best astronomical sites on earth. The project has thus played a key role in advancing the detector technology for wider use.

The analysis project supported by this award combines CMB maps from AdvACT with optical data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to measure the signals associated with DESI-identified galaxy halos in AdvACT CMB maps, with the goal of informing models of galaxy evolution and measuring the pairwise velocity of these halos for the first time. The PI obtained project approval from the ACT and DESI collaborations and coordinated the effort with collaborators across US institutions. The award has laid the groundwork for this analysis project to inform models of galaxy evolution and explore the large-scale structure of our universe with a new probe, which will lead to the public release of pipelines for upcoming CMB and submillimeter astronomical data analysis. 

This award provided pivotal education and training for several early career scientists. From 2022-2024, the PI mentored seven graduate students, one postdoc, four undergraduate students, and one summer research scholar. These individuals received training in cryogenics, mechanical design, superconductor testing, hands-on instrumentation work, and/or data acquisition and analysis methods, in addition to education in astronomy, cosmology and physics. The students had regular opportunities to present their work in meetings with larger collaborations, helping them network within the field. One student was supported through the Simons-National Society of Black Physicists Program in the summer of 2023 to analyze simulated and ACT CMB data. 

The work enabled by this award was presented by the PI and mentees at multiple AAS contributed talks, as well as at several institutions through colloquium talks, seminars, collaboration meeting presentations and poster presentations. The award's progress and milestones were also advertised by the PI to a broad global audience on Twitter, from a personal account as well as with the Simons Observatory, ACT, and CCAT Twitter accounts. 

This award supported two annual "Cosmology Day" events created by the PI at Cornell which hosted 35 (Y1) and 36 (Y2) Cortland High School students for a series of talks, panel discussions and laboratory tours. The events shared the goals of the project as well as broader talks on open questions in cosmology, physics, engineering and astronomy, and elucidating paths into STEM. The PI conducted pre- and post-event surveys to refine the Y2 event, and expanded the event to include more and varied laboratory tours based on the interests of students from Y1 of the award. Beyond this funding period, Cosmology Day will continue to be hosted annually at Cornell. 

This project also supported virtual lectures to high school students across the US as part of the CMB-S4 Saturday Science Series (two events in the first year of this project, reaching ~100 high school students in Y1), development of educational materials for children and parents to accompany the PI's children's books on neutrino physics and black holes, and educational events reaching over 70 K-12 students and parents as well as 1-4th grade classes across 10 schools in NY and VT. These presentations discussed physics, cosmology and astronomy, including the work in this project, at an age-appropriate level. 

This NSF grant advanced novel instrumentation and analysis pipelines at the forefront of millimeter and submillimeter cosmology and astrophysics, as well as provided invaluable career training for 13 mentees over the 2022-2024 funding period. Additionally, the wide reach of the educational programs pursued by the PI impacted both local and global communities with a focus on K-12 students and parents. The outcomes of this award will have long-lasting effects on cosmology, astrophysics, and the general public.

Last Modified: 10/06/2024
Modified by: Eve M Vavagiakis