First light for Simons Observatory!

The Simons Observatory (SO) has completed the installation of its Large Aperture Telescope (LAT) in Northern Chile and, soon after, the first observations were made. This proof of functioning of the design is a huge success for the whole SO team and is the onset of collecting observations and analysing data to figure out what happened long before galaxies and stars emerged.

The Van Swinderen Institute is an institutional member of the Simons Observatory, and several scientists are involved in analysing and interpreting the data forthcoming from the LAT (and SAT).

P. Daniel Meerburg (VSI, senior member) is advising a team of researchers within SO to search for signals from the infant universe. Specific patterns in the cosmic microwave background could provide clues about physics at the highest energy scales, and analysing these signatures is a key target of the Simons Observatory. Keyi Ding (VSI, junior member) is a recent PhD student who will make important contributions to the analysis code in search of these patterns. With data coming in, the VSI’s involvement will continue to grow with the hiring of additional PhDs and postdocs that will directly work under the supervision of P. Daniel Meerburg.

Luca Di Mascolo (Kapteyn, junior member) is interested in tracing the thermal evolution of galaxy clusters, the most massive structures ever formed across cosmic history. He is planning to exploit SO observations in combination with multi-wavelength high-resolution measurements to decipher how multi-scale physical and dynamical processes impact the evolution of galaxy clusters themselves and of the galaxies that live within them. This will allow for building a more complete understanding of the thermal history of our universe, how structure grew and evolved, or fundamentally how the Universe came to be as we see it today.

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