Objective
Much of the foundational evidence for our current model of cosmology, describing the origins and evolution of the Universe, has come from observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This is relic light that has been travelling for almost 14 billion years since the Big Bang, carrying a picture of the Universe in its infancy. So far it has told us what the Universe is made of today, as well as its average density and its age. We find that it is only 5% normal matter, with the remainder composed of unknown components: 72% Dark Energy and 23% Dark Matter. We do not yet know their nature. We have also seen signatures that support the idea that structure in the Universe was seeded by tiny ripples in the otherwise smooth space, created during a rapid expansion of the Universe in the first trillionth of a second, called inflation'.
In Oxford I now propose to target additional information encoded in the CMB, by looking at measurements with higher resolution and sensitivity than ever before. The main goals of this proposal are to uncover convincing evidence for the inflationary scenario, and to better determine the nature of the Dark Energy component, particularly at early cosmic times. My team will be using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, a 6m telescope in Chile, and from ESA's Planck Satellite mission, which is observing the CMB over the whole sky and launched in 2009. We will have to deal with contamination both from our own Galaxy and from many other distant galaxies in order to convincingly extract the underlying signals from the high energy Universe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering aerospace engineering satellite technology
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology big bang
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics dark matter
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2010-StG_20091028
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.