Cosmology is our study of the universe as a whole. We seek to understand the initial conditions, the evolution and the content of the universe. In our current understanding of the content of the universe, we have evidence that our universe is made up of Normal Matter (4%), Neutrinos and Radiation (0.1-2%), Dark Matter (23%), Dark Energy (73%).
Understanding the nature of Dark Energy is what drives my research. To date, we know that Dark Energy exists given the observational evidence of its contributions towards the accelerated expansion of the universe. Yet, we do not have a clear understanding of what exactly it is. This requires that we continue to examine our fundamental understanding of space-time itself and gather more detailed observations to further our picture.
As a graduate student, I worked on the Holometer to gather evidence about the small-scale structure of spacetime. Now as a postdoc, I work towards improving our gravitational wave detector sensitivity to enable measurements at cosmological distances.
Gravitational wave detectors are elaborate rulers that measure waves rippling through the fabric of space-time. These waves are teeny (as in 1000x smaller than the radius of a proton), which requires creating really sensitive machines to measure them, namely LIGO. As instrument scientists, we figure out strategies to push beyond our current technology limits to enable new kinds of discoveries.
Currently, I think about how seismic waves generate noise in the detectors by both shaking the instruments (seismic noise) and creating changes in the local gravitational field (Newtonian noise). I work towards figuring out strategies to reduce the impact of seismic waves for future upgrades to the detectors. I think about this in the context at our current LIGO sites within the U.S. and what we intend to do in the future on projects like Cosmic Explorer. My work is to bring in new kinds of technologies, like seismic metamaterials, to see whether they could have a big impact on enabling a further cosmological reach.
Metamaterials are people-designed materials that have enabled an entirely new discovery space in physics. Nature-made materials are constrained by the allowable states of atomic structure. Whereas, people-designed materials enable discoveries that have been otherwise deemed impossible such as invisibilty cloaks.
I am excited about the growing field of seismic metamaterials and its potential impact on site engineering for future gravitational wave detectors. Seismic engineers work to protect precious infrastructure such as hospitals and nuclear reactors from earthquakes. I'd like to use the same technology towards future upgrades for LIGO and Cosmic Explorer. Currently, I am working on modeling and table-top experiments that further our foundational understanding of the physics of surface waves interacting with metamaterials.