Recipient organisationCardiff UniversitySource-published name: Cardiff University
Funding£2.2M
PeriodMar 2009 — Mar 2012
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Astronomers are building ultra-sensitive superconducting cameras to capture the faintest light ever emitted in the universe—the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which carries a signal from the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. This matters because the CMB’s polarisation patterns could reveal whether the universe underwent a violent, exponential expansion called inflation, driven by gravitational waves. Current detectors are not sensitive enough to confirm or rule out this theory. The team will also develop metamaterial optical components and far-infrared interferometry for future space missions, and survey star-forming regions to separate foreground signals from the primordial CMB. The research is fundamental science—it aims to answer how the universe began and why matter clumped into galaxies. There is no immediate practical application. However, the detector and metamaterial technologies developed here could later be adapted for medical imaging, security scanning, or other fields requiring extreme sensitivity to weak electromagnetic signals. The programme also includes public outreach to inspire schoolchildren and a knowledge-exchange strand to spin off the technology into wider use.
View original technical description
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the earliest electromagnetic signal we can receive from the Universe, and investigation of its properties allows us to test theories of how the Universe began and how structure was formed that has eventually led to the galaxies and clusters that we see around us today. We propose to determine the polarization properties of the CMB in order to test theories of the very early period known as inflation by looking for the characteristic signal caused by gravitational waves created at that time, and also to conduct surveys of the galaxy to check on foregrounds and test theories of the structure of regions where stars form. In order to maintain a UK lead in this strategically high priority area of science we also propose a programme of underpinning research and development into specialised optical components at wavelengths from a few microns to a few millimetres using the principles of what are known as meta-materials, and also a programme to develop very large numbers of extremely sensitive superconducting detectors in order to improve measurements of the incredibly weak signals from the CMB and galaxies at these wavelengths. We also propose to investigate the method of interferometry to improve angular resolution at far infrared wavelengths for future space missions. We will engage in an active programme of outreach to educate the public and especially school children in the exciting science that we do and hopefully encourage more to take up careers in science as a result. We will also conduct a knowledge exchange programme looking to apply the technology developed for astronomy to other purposes with wider impact, such as medical imaging for example.
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