Physics and Astronomy Calendar

Together with other cosmological probes, observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation have been used to determine standard cosmological parameters with high precision. Much more information is needed, however, to understand the link between the outlandish Lambda dominated-CDM Universe and fundamental physics. In the first part of the talk, I will describe several ongoing CMB experiments targeting the high-l power spectrum and the B-mode polarization anisotropies. These ground- and balloon-based experiments highly compliment the WMAP satellite in survey parameters and science goals. In the second part of the talk, I will describe the CMB detector development efforts at JPL/Caltech, with emphasis on the antenna-coupled transition edge sensors (TES), a technology now reaching maturity. The next generation CMB experiments enabled by this new technology will look even deeper in the B-mode polarization to pursue the imprints of the primordial gravitational background radiation left by Inflation.