Aula Marchetti U1-07.
Abstract: Large scale millimeter-wave surveys of the sky with arcminute resolution will produce rich new datasets addressing a wide range of pressing science questions. The next generation of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) instruments such as the Simons Observatory will probe the origins and evolution of the universe and search for primordial gravitational waves and new light particles. They will also serve a broad scientific community seeking to understand topics such as galaxy evolution, the transient universe, the role of magnetic fields in the interstellar medium in our Galaxy, and the search for Planet 9 in the Solar System. I will review the evolution of CMB measurement from Chile, the Simons Observatory goals and status, and plans for the future of CMB in Chile.
About the speaker:
Mark Devlin is Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on experimental cosmology at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, with an emphasis on designing and building sophisticated instrumentation and telescopes deployed on high-altitude balloons and in the high-altitude plateaus of Chile. He has led a number of landmark experiments, including the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), and the Balloon-Borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST). He is co-director of the Simons Observatory, the world-leading CMB facility in Atacamam Chile. In 2025, Professor Devlin was elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to cosmology and astrophysics.