Forcasting the Capabilities of LIM-pair Estimartors to Probe The Cosmic Dark Ages

While we have been able to learn a great deal about the early moments after the Big Bang from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, most of the universe remains unexplored. In particular, the cosmic Dark Ages, a time before any stars or galaxies existed, remains a mystery. This is a time when the cosmos was filled almost entirely with neutral light atoms. The distribution of this matter, though seemingly random, has encoded in it deep quantum structure that originated before the Big Bang and that gave rise to all of the complex galactic physics we see today. A peek into the cosmic Dark Ages would give us a clear view into the beginnings of our universe. This, however, is no small feat. Between us and the early universe are billions of years of comic evolution and in looking deep into the cosmos, our view is contaminated by late-time cosmology. But, there may be a way out.

Faculty Supervisor:

Adrian Liu

Student:

Partner:

New York University

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

McGill University

Program: