Clarence Chang
University of Chicago, IL·Astronomy & Astrophysics
The most distant galaxies are too faint to see one by one. Yet together, their combined glow traces the large-scale structure of the universe.
- Fields
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Physics
Engineering
- Topics
line intensity mapping
cosmology
South Pole Telescope
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2029
What they work on
- Build COLIMATE, a 48-spectrometer millimeter-wave focal plane for the South Pole Telescope, with each pixel acting as its own on-chip spectrometer using superconducting kinetic inductance detectors.
- Improve detector responsivity and microstrip transmission, meaning how efficiently signals travel along on-chip wiring, building on the SuperSpec and SPT-SLIM prototype instruments.
- Develop a multi-level focal plane design that packs more spectrometers into the camera and lets more light reach the detectors.
- Map carbon monoxide line emission from faint galaxies to measure cold molecular gas and constrain the universe's expansion rate between redshift 0.3 and 3.
More about the research
Line intensity mapping (LIM) measures this collective light at specific wavelengths given off by particular molecules. It is like mapping a forest instead of counting individual trees. Because light from farther away left its source earlier, these maps can show how the structure changed over time. That history could test the physics of the universe, including inflation and dark energy, which drives cosmic expansion. It could also show how galaxies built up their stars over billions of years.
Why it matters
This is basic research on the nature of the universe. Maps of carbon monoxide emission from distant galaxies could help pin down how fast the universe expanded at different times, test dark energy and inflation, and trace how galaxies formed stars. The superconducting detector and on-chip spectrometer technology developed for COLIMATE could also inform future millimeter-wave instruments.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Adam Anderson
University of Chicago, IL·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Demonstrate that multi-pixel on-chip superconducting spectrometers, patterned on silicon wafers and cooled to 0.1 K, can perform millimeter-wavelength line intensity mapping from the 10-meter South Pole Telescope.
Carl Ferkinhoff
Winona State University, MN·Astronomy & Astrophysics·Early-career
Upgrade the ZEUS-2 spectrometer into the ZEUS-3D imaging spectrometer by adding an image slicer, a K-mirror that steadies the image and a direct-absorbing KID (superconducting detector) array, for use on the APEX telescope.
Chihway Chang
University of Chicago, IL·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Measure cross-correlations between CMB lensing, galaxy positions, galaxy lensing and the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect using DES, SPT and ACT data, to tighten constraints on the universe's properties.
The school
University of Chicago: 39 labs on PI Pages, $681M a year on research, 457 research doctorates a year.
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