BIGBOSS: A STAGE IV DARK ENERGY REDSHIFT SURVEY

BigBOSS is a Stage IV dark energy experiment based on proven techniques to study the large-scale mass distribution of the universe and to provide experimental data for validation of competing cosmology models. BigBOSS will search for stalled baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) waves, remnants of the early universe, which serve as "standard rulers" for precision cosmology. This experiment will advance our understanding of the relationship between dark energy, dark matter, neutrinos, and ordinary matter.

The study of dark energy through BAO was labeled a key area of exploration by the 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. BigBOSS is designed to perform a 14,000-square-degree survey of 20 million galaxies and quasars. The project involves installation of a new instrument on the Mayall 4m telescope operated by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. The instrument includes an advanced optical widefield corrector, a 5000-fiber actuator system, and an array of multi-object spectrometers. Systems engineering of the widefield optical corrector, fiber positioning system, and spectrometer array will be discussed.

Speaker: Dr. Michael Sholl, University of California at Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory