Speaker
Description
Intensity mapping surveys of neutral hydrogen (HI) are a new way to measure the large-scale matter distribution of our Universe at low spatial resolution over a wide range of redshifts, and thus constrain cosmological parameters such as the Universal expansion. MeerKAT can be used in a “single-dish” mode to access large cosmic scales above 1 degree that are not accessible to the interferometer, while achieving massive survey speeds and depth compared to actual single dish telescopes. Measurements on these ultra-large scales are immensely important to probe deviations from Einstein’s gravity and the Physics of the early Universe. In this talk, I will review the progress of MeerKLASS (MeerKAT Large Area Synoptic Survey), which has pioneered the approach of using an entire array in a fast-scanning multi-dish autocorrelation mode. In this talk, I will give an overview of the progress with MeerKLASS which includes two independent detections of the HI-galay cross power spectrum around z~0.44. I will also give an update on our progress in surveying the Southern Sky at high redshift $0.5<z<1.5$ building up towards several thousand square degrees area. This unprecedented sky coverage will allow us to measure the Baryon Acoustic Scale within the next few years.