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Measuring The Cosmos

Ali CMB Polarization Telescope (AliCPT)

Telescope Details

Location

Tibet, China

Purpose

Measure cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization to search for signals of primordial gravitational waves that could confirm the theory of inflation.

NIST’s role

NIST scientists designed, fabricated and characterized the telescopes’ superconducting detector arrays and electronics. NIST delivered an integrated focal plane module to Stanford University, where scientists installed it into the cryostat receiver (a cooled camera), and checked for functionality. The components have been shipped to China, where they are being installed and tested by collaborators.

Significant discoveries

The telescope is currently being commissioned.

Other interesting facts

AliCPT is the only CMB imager to be located in the Northern Hemisphere, which will allow the telescope access to map new regions of the sky to great depths. This will be important in checking other telescopes’ measurements, because signals need to be detected in multiple parts of the sky to be confirmed.