A recent paper led by first and second authors Fei Ge (UC Davis graduate student) and Marius Millea (UC Davis Project Scientist) presents results from two years of surveying the millimeter wavelength sky with the third generation camera on the South Pole Telescope. They restrict their analysis to the slight (one part in a million) polarization of the 2.7K cosmic microwave background (CMB), and use these data to make a high resolution map of projected mass, measure cosmological parameters, and test cosmological models. One key result is their measurement of the current expansion rate of the universe. It's consistent with prior results using primarily intensity CMB data, and inconsistent with the most precise of the more direct measurements -- a discrepancy known as the Hubble tension. For more, read the UC Davis College of Letters & Science press release.
Published: November 14, 2024, 5:41 pm