John E. Carlstrom

Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College; Enrico Fermi Institute; Director, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics

Education: Ph.D., California/Berkeley, 1988

Contact Information

Phone: (773) 834-0269
Location: LASR 109
Email: jcddjob.uchicago.edu
WWW: Web Site

Research

Experimental physics and astrophysics, star formation and cosmology, observation and new instrumentation.

Observational cosmology using new instruments to measure the primary anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation and the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect. Leader of the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) project. DASI, a unique 13 element compact interferometric array located at the NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole station, recently reported detection of the harmonic peaks in the CMB angular power spectrum. The new DASI data was used to set tight constraints on cosmological parameters, such as the curvature of the universe (1.04�0.06) and the fractional amounts of baryonic and cold dark matter. The results provide further support for Inflationary models for the origin of the universe. Current DASI observations are directed toward measuring the polarization of the CMB anisotropy.
Interferometric techniques are also used for detailed imaging of the CMB which has been scattered by hot gas associated with clusters of galaxies, the Sunyaev Zeldovich effect (SZE). The intensity of the SZE for a cluster is independent of its distance making the SZE an ideal cosmological probe. Combining SZE measurements with x-ray observations allows an independent determination of the expansion history of the universe, as well as detailed information about these extremely large structures. A major expansion of this project, which includes building a dedicated six element array of telescopes, has recently been funded. The factor of 100 increase in imaging speed provided by the new array will enable a SZE survey of the high redshift universe over a region of roughly 12 square degrees.

Research Fields: Cosmology; Extragalactic Astronomy

Scientific Projects: Dark Energy Survey; Degree Angular Scale Interferometer; Interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Imaging Experiment; Planck; South Pole Telescope; Sunyaev-Zeldovich Array

Visit: Enrico Fermi Institute; Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics

Current Students

Graduate: Abigail Crites; Christopher Greer; Ryan Hennessy

Past Students

Graduate: Samuel LaRoque (2005); Daisuke Nagai (2005)

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