Sensing of the atmosphere and the universe with millimeter-waves

Big Bang, torrential rain, and dark matter

Abstract

Sensing of the atmosphere and the universe with millimeter waves provides us unique science topics. The oldest millimeter-wave signal in the universe is cosmic microwave background (CMB) which is the Big Bang’s remnant. Its precise observations provide us knowledge about the beginning of the universe. On the other hand, atmospheric radiation, i.e., today’s millimeter-wave signal, contains signs of torrential rains. This article introduces technological synergy among them. In particular, we developed atmospheric radiation monitor “KUMODeS” using patent technologies for a CMB project “GroundBIRD”, and we demonstrated it is useful for such a meteorological application. Sensing dark matter with millimeter-wave is also an attractive science topic. We newly launched the experiment for this purpose, which is named “DOSUE-RR”.