Fermilab’s cosmic research program explores the fundamental nature of matter, energy, space, and time, as revealed in the unique natural laboratory of the cosmos.
Surveys of galaxies and cosmic background radiation use precise measurements of cosmic structure to learn about fundamental physics of cosmic acceleration, new forms of gravitating matter, and properties of cosmic neutrinos. A coordinated campaign of experiments seek to directly detect and study the properties of dark matter particles in the laboratory. Development of new technology, both ultra-sensitive detectors and advanced computational algorithms, will enable the next generation of discovery.
The Fermilab Cosmic Physics Center (CPC) hosts Fermilab’s cosmic research program and fosters interactions between the lab and the larger the cosmic physics community. We invite you to join the adventure, a high-energy, cosmic journey: learn about who we are, the science we’re focused on, and how you can be a part of it.
Highlights
Fermilab CPC Scientist Alex Drlica-Wagner was selected as a 2024 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for “For critical contributions to observational cosmology in DES, DELVE, and LSST, including groundbreaking work in dark matter science with these surveys and leading the implementation of ultra-low noise skipper-CCD in astronomical instrumentation, and for mentoring the next… More »
A new paper by the SuperCDMS collaboration places improved constraints on dark matter with a small array of cryogenic detectors (named HVeV). These detectors were operated in the NEXUS underground test stand, which is situated 100 meters underground in the Fermilab NuMI hall. The data revealed a background that was time-correlated between detectors (shown… More »
The 9.4T MRI magnet that is planned to be used by the ADMX-EFR experiment was delivered from the University of Illinois Chicago and lowered into the hall at PW8. The safe and successful operation was a combined effort of the particle physics directorate; environment, safety and health division; security and emergency management division. The magnet may also… More »
A team led by the Fermilab CCD Group performed the first on-sky demonstration using Skipper CCDs on the SOAR Telescope in Chile. This demonstration helps retire perceived risks for using this technology in future cosmology experiments recommended by the P5 Report such as DESI-II and Spec-S5. This project was a collaborative effort from Fermilab, UChicago,… More »