PhD Research

cmb_timeline300_no_wmap — A conceptual cartoon of the evolution of the universe. Time flows from left to right, from inflation and the Big Bang to the present day where the universe is expanding at an increasing rate. My PhD research focuses on observing the cosmic microwave background, the “afterglow light pattern” remnant of the very early universe. Photo credit: WMAP Collaboration

Cosmology aims to demystify the complexity of the cosmos via systematic observations of large-scale effects in the night sky such as dark matter clustering, the brightness of intergalactic gas, and patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

cmb_map1_0 — A B-mode polarization pattern as measured by the BICEP-2 instrument located at the South Pole. The swirly nature of the graphic depicts B-modes’ signature curly geometry. When BICEP published this pattern (2014), they claimed to have seen the imprint of primordial gravitational waves generated during inflation; however, further investigation revealed that they were actually seeing swirly patterns in the interstellar dust of the Milky Way. Photo credit: BICEP-2 Collaboration

My PhD research focuses on building highly sensitive “cameras” to characterize fluctuations in the CMB polarization, looking specifically for a swirly polarization pattern called “B-modes.” B-modes are a powerful probe of cosmology, telling us about the nature of inflation–an exponential expansion of the universe immediately after the Big Bang–and quantum gravity as well as the impact of dark matter, dark energy, and neutrinos on the maturation of the cosmos.