Engineers at West Virginia University (WVU) are working to improve our understanding of dark energy by recalibrating radio telescopes. Dark energy, a mysterious force that is believed to be accelerating the expansion of the universe, makes up about 68% of the universe, but remains poorly understood due to its elusive nature.
The team at WVU, led by Kevin Bandura, assistant professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, is focusing on the development of the Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX). This project is a large-scale radio telescope array located in South Africa, which will map a third of the sky and measure the distribution of galaxies over the last 9 billion years.
The HIRAX project aims to shed light on dark energy by observing hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. By tracking the distribution and movement of hydrogen over billions of years, it is believed that we can infer information about dark energy and its effects. However, calibrating the telescopes to accurately measure the signal from hydrogen is a significant challenge.
The engineers at WVU have developed an innovative calibration system that uses drones to fly a known radio source around the telescope array. This allows them to create an accurate model of the telescope’s response to incoming signals, improving the precision of their measurements and the reliability of their data.
This drone-based calibration technique has been tested on the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope, a similar project to HIRAX. Results from the tests indicate that the technique is effective and can significantly improve the accuracy of the telescope’s data.
In addition to providing insight into dark energy, the HIRAX project and the new calibration technique could provide a number of other scientific benefits. For example, they could help to detect fast radio bursts (FRBs), high-energy astronomical phenomena of unknown origin, and map the distribution of cosmic gas.
Moreover, this project underscores the importance of engineering in advancing our understanding of the universe. Bandura emphasized that without precise calibration, the data obtained from these telescopes would be worthless. Hence, the role of engineers in developing and improving these calibration techniques is critical.
Overall, the project represents a significant step forward in our quest to understand the fundamental nature of the universe. With the successful implementation of this new calibration technique, we could be on the verge of making significant discoveries about the elusive dark energy and other cosmic phenomena.
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