Andrew Harris
University of Maryland, MD·Astronomy & Astrophysics
When the first stars and galaxies switched on, their ultraviolet light stripped electrons from the neutral hydrogen gas filling the space between galaxies. Ionized bubbles grew around these sources, unevenly in time and space, until they merged.
- Fields
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Physics
Engineering
- Topics
Epoch of Reionization
EoR
21 cm cosmology
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Duplicate the existing COMAP Pathfinder receiver and use it to carry out a sky survey of redshifted carbon monoxide (CO) emission by line intensity mapping.
- Cross-correlate the COMAP CO temperature cube with LOFAR 21-centimeter hydrogen observations of the same field, so that instrument errors, radio interference, and foregrounds largely cancel.
- Constrain the CO × HI cross power spectrum about 30 times better than current limits, providing a route to confirming the Epoch of Reionization 21-centimeter signal.
More about the research
This era, the Epoch of Reionization, has never been observed directly through its most telling signal: the 21-centimeter radio emission of neutral hydrogen, stretched to longer wavelengths by cosmic expansion. That signal is extremely hard to detect. Emission from our own galaxy and other foreground sources can be 100,000 times brighter. Human-made radio interference and subtle instrument errors add further problems.
Why it matters
This is basic cosmology. A confirmed reionization-era 21-centimeter signal would show directly how the first luminous objects ionized the gas between galaxies, and it could open the way to tighter measurements of neutral hydrogen alone. Through the Caltech Education Office, the project also brings coding and astronomy lessons to underserved high schools and supports their teachers.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kieran Cleary
California Institute of Technology, CA·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Build a duplicate of the COMAP Pathfinder receiver and use it to survey the carbon monoxide (CO) line across the sky through line intensity mapping, which measures the combined glow of many galaxies.
Aaron Parsons
University of California-Berkeley, CA·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Measure the redshifted 21-cm radio signal from neutral hydrogen, emitted at a rest frequency of 1420 MHz, across 50–250 MHz using the HERA array of 350 dish antennas, to trace the universe from the Cosmic Dawn to reionization.
Laura Newburgh
Yale University, CT·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Develop modeling frameworks and analysis pipelines for cross-correlating CHIME 21cm hydrogen maps with galaxy surveys, and integrate improved models of the telescope beam into the analysis.
The school
University of Maryland: 49 labs on PI Pages, $1.5B a year on research, 602 research doctorates a year.
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