Cosmological redshift measurements using DESHIMA

Research Question: How can you detect faint astronomical emission lines buried in various types of noise and systematics associated with the detector, instrument and the atmosphere? 

Context: DESHIMA 2.0 is an astronomical spectrometer with the widest bandwidth in the world in the millimeter-submillimeter wavelength range. It is the first instrument that utilizes the superconducting on-chip filterbank technology that was invented in Delft/SRON. Many students were involved in the development, simulation and operation of DESHIMA. in 2023-2024 we conducted observations on the ASTE telescope in Chile, with participation of TU Delft students, togehter with astronomers from around the world.  

Scope: In this project, you will try to measure the cosmological redshift of a few dusty star-forming galaxies, to find out how many years after the Big Bang they existed. To this end, you will analyze data taken by DESHIMA 2.0, and try to distill the faint emission line signature of the galaxy, from the various types of noise. Whilst main area is signal processing, you will also need to develop a physical understanding of the working of the detectors, the telescope system, and the method of observation that were applied. 

Requirements

EE4745 Superconducting astronomical instrumentation

Contact

Last modified: 2025-11-27