Clarence Chang
University of Chicago, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
Astrophysics and Cosmology with the South Pole Telescope
The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10-m mm-wave telescope located at
the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The SPT achieved first light in
early 2007 and has been surveying the sky at 3, 2, and 1-mm. SPT
utilizes a Transition Edge Sensor bolometer array to make it the most
sensitive survey instrument at these observing wavelengths. The first
results from this survey include the discovery of a new population of
mm-wave sources believed to be distant dusty star forming galaxies,
discovery of new galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect,
and measuring the power spectrum of distant unresolved galaxy
clusters. In this talk, I will review these initial results and discuss
the current status of SPT. I will also describe our plans for the next
SPT project, SPTpol, which will utilize new bolometer technology
developed in collaboration with ANL to conduct the most precise
measurement of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background.
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