Capturing the Big Bang’s Afterglow

From laboratories to mountain peaks in Chile, Eve Vavagiakis and her team are helping unlock the secrets of the universe

A purple graphic with elements related to space -- an observatory,. planet, rocket.

October is Space Month. At Duke University, space research is more than just science — it's a bold journey across disciplines. This is the fourth in a series of stories featuring innovators, dreamers and faculty shaping the future of exploration of the cosmos.

Eve Vavagiakis constructs cameras — not the kind that capture everyday moments on Earth, but ones designed to image the earliest light in the universe. 

Some of these instruments are installed at the Simons Observatory, 17,000 feet above sea level in the Atacama Desert, Chile. At that altitude, scientists often need supplementary oxygen to breathe.  

The Simons Observatory is one of the most ambitious cosmic observatories on Earth, dedicated to studying the cosmic microwave background — the ancient light left over from the Big Bang.

Its mission includes exploring the physics of the early universe, the nature of dark energy and dark matter, neutrino properties, and the formation of cosmic structures.  

Vavagiakis specializes in designing and managing cameras that operate at extremely low temperatures, as well as in detector technology. Her work is part of a university-wide effort to deepen our understanding of the cosmos through interdisciplinary collaboration.  

Teamwork

Jenna Moore stands on the edge of the Simons Observatory site at sunset.

An assistant professor of physics, Vavagiakis works closely with her postdoctoral associate Jenna Moore. 

“My expertise lies in the readout technology: I develop equipment that can operate in these low temperatures, which enables the simultaneous transmission of signals from tens of thousands of detectors deep inside the camera. Together, we make a great team,” Moore said.

In the past year, the Simons Observatory achieved “first light”— its first astronomical observation — a major milestone for the collaboration. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Vavagiakis. “I worked on this throughout my graduate education, so it’s really thrilling to see it come together.” 

The observatory will “measure the cosmic microwave background,

which is essentially the afterglow of the Big Bang, as well as observe other targets such as the universe’s most massive black holes and our solar system’s asteroids,” according to a news release.

Duke becomes member institution

Both Vavagiakis and Moore were affiliated with Simons’ member institutions during their graduate studies — Vavagiakis at Cornell University and Moore at Arizona State University. Due to their ongoing contributions, Duke University has officially joined the Simons Observatory as a member institution.  

Now that Duke is an institutional member of the Simons Observatory collaboration, other researchers at Duke can join the project. “This is an exciting step,” said Moore. 

Duke’s membership opens new opportunities for students, researchers and faculty to participate in advanced cosmology and instrumentation development, an important step in supporting the university’s broader commitment to space research. In August, Duke launched the SPACE Initiative (Science & Policy to Advance Cosmic Exploration). 

In addition to working on instrumentation at the Simons Observatory, the two women are also involved in projects at Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope (CCAT) Observatory. Vavagiakis and Moore are working on the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST), a six-meter-diameter telescope near the Simons Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the highest telescopes in the world, even higher than the Simons Observatory. 

(Left) one of the small aperture telescopes inside an enclosure. (Right) is the small aperture telescope. Photo credit: Felipe Carrero
Eve Vavagiakis, standing atop the Simons Observatory Large Aperture Telescope.

Building for the future

Vavagiakis and her team are building a camera module for Prime-Cam in her lab. It’s one of two instruments planned for the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope. 

Using Duke’s physics instrument shop for aluminum welding, her team is fabricating a tabletop-sized module that will study light at 410 GHz — a frequency a bit above that of a microwave in your home. This wavelength offers key insights into cosmology and astronomy.  

The project involves the hands-on development by students and postdoctoral researchers of the full components of a camera designed to explore the universe, including detector and readout technologies, as well as cryo-mechanical and opto-mechanical elements such as lenses, filters, and blackened baffles. 

“It is immensely rewarding to see projects of this scale go from drawings on a whiteboard to instruments on the ground collecting data. I got to have that experience working on Simons Observatory as a graduate student, and I’m thrilled our students will get to have that same experience now with CCAT,” Moore said. 

Added Vavagiakis: “This is a transformative moment for the field. The next generation of telescopes and cameras — conceived during my education — are now coming online. Students joining these projects today will have a decade or more of rich data to work with, and the opportunity to shape the future of cosmology.” 

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