Research in Cosmology Instrumentation (LBNL)
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
We are working on precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – the relic thermal radiation that decoupled from the primordial plasma when the universe was just 0.003% of its current age. Measurements of the CMB have been central to the formation of the modern picture of the universe, and the next generation of experiments stands to probe the physics of the hypothesized period of cosmic inflation during which the seeds of cosmic structure were sown, measure fundamental properties of neutrinos through their effect on gravitational lensing of the CMB, and constrain possible beyond-the-Standard-Model particles and dark matter.
Current projects include ground-based telescope arrays in the Chilean Atacama desert and the geographic South Pole such as the Simons Observatory and CMB-S4. These telescopes operate hundreds of thousands of superconducting sensors at a temperature of ~0.1 Kelvin along with ~meter scale refractive optics operating at a temperature of ~1 Kelvin, posing many exciting instrumentation challenges. Our group focuses on developing and implementing the instrumentation required to enable and operate these cutting-edge observatories.
Role: Several research tasks associated with these instrumentation development activities are appropriate for undergraduate researchers. These include software modeling of experiment sensitivities and systematics, laboratory testing of telescope components, and CAD design of test components.
Additionally, there are opportunities to take cryogenic sensor technologies developed for CMB experiments and adapt them for other purposes like neutrino physics and low-mass dark matter searches. For that work, the student would develop a model of superconducting cryogenic circuit interactions as part of a feasibility study.
Qualifications: Applicants should be in their second year, third, or fourth year of a physics or engineering program. Prior computer programming experience is desirable, and hands-on experience with laboratory instrumentation is a plus.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: John Groh, Staff Researcher
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: LBNL, Building 50
Related website: https://johncgroh.github.io
Related website: https://cmb-s4.org/