Mid-Term Assessment of Progress on the 2015 Strategic Vision for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research (2021) / Chapter Skim
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4 Priority III: How Did the Universe Begin?
4 Priority III: How Did the Universe Begin?
Pages 77-86
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From page 77... ...
The detection of this incredibly small CMB polarization signal, or at least the setting of strong limits on inflationary models, drives major CMB programs around the world. Antarctic CMB research, including growth to incorporate an experimental program termed Stage 4 (CMB-S4)
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From page 78... ...
Progress Toward Scientific Goals CMB-S4 builds on the successful CMB experiments currently at the South Pole, including the South Pole Telescope (SPT; see Figure 4-1) , Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP)
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From page 79... ...
, the discovery of strongly gravitationally lensed high-redshift dusty star–forming galaxies, and participation in the Event Horizon Telescope, an international collaboration that links radio dishes across the globe to create an Earth-sized interferometer (Doeleman, 2017)
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From page 80... ...
report provided guidance on the science goals and measurement requirements for CMB-S4, in addition to instrument design, schedule, and cost, which were accepted by the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee in
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From page 81... ...
Recent developments include MSRI design awards for CMB-S4 and for a 5-meter TMA telescope, which would be deployed shortly and then its use could be continued in CMB-S4. Science Funding Until 2020, the two major ongoing experiments at the pole received sufficient financial support to continue their instrument development programs and to analyze the data they acquired.
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From page 82... ...
As of December 2020, the collaboration included more than 200 scientists and engineers across 14 countries and more than 80 institutions.5 Collaboration members include scientists across several national laboratories and federal agencies, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology and NASA. Although the CMB research community has similar diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges as the overall scientific community, it is working actively to engage junior researchers and provide them with positions of leadership.
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From page 83... ...
Inclusion of the BART team in early logistical conversations ensures that planning for both projects is consistent and properly coordinated. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused 1 year of delay in both instrument readiness and deployment of the BICEP Array, and with OPP logistics resources spread thin, the project team is concerned about further delays in the schedule for deploying the replacement tower and the remaining receivers.
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From page 84... ...
The instruments and the instrumentation envisioned for CMB-S4 would also put a strain on the system beyond the capacity of the present, aging infrastructure. For example, power upgrades will be needed at the South Pole Station, but the scientists report that they have not been invited to play a role in forming the plans for the South Pole Station, despite the large load that the CMB experiments are expected to place on the aging infrastructure.
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From page 85... ...
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CMB research at the South Pole has been flourishing for many years, contributing to our understanding of the origin of the universe and strengthening the scientific leadership of the United States in this field. There are two major existing CMB experimental programs at the South Pole: the SPT and BICEP/Keck.
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From page 86... ...
Principal researchers of the ground-based Antarctic CMB experiments and of the CMB balloon efforts report that the logistics discussions are not adequate, which hampers planning. NSF should support timely two-way communication between NSF logistics planning teams and scientists, in which tradeoffs between support options are explored.
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