UC Berkeley

Transition edge sensor (TES) bolometer technology has been at the core of advancements

in experimental cosmic microwave background (CMB) science for the

past few decades. Theoretical and experimental work has built a robust model of

the universe. Despite tremendous progress, there are several key pieces of experimental

evidence missing to complete our understanding of the universe. This dissertation

covers the work done by Benjamin Grey Westbrook at the University of California

Berkeley between 2007 and 2014. It is centered around the use of spider-web absorber

transition edge sensor (SWATES) bolometers to study the cosmos by the

Atcama Pathnder Experiment - Sunyaev Zel'dolvich (APEX-SZ) and the E and

B Experiment (EBEX). Both of which help complete our model of the universe in

complimentary ways.

APEX-SZ is a ground-based experiment that made observations of galaxy clusters

via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Eect from the Chajnantor Plateau in Northern Chile

from 2005 to 2010. It observed galaxy clusters at 150 GHz with 300 SWATES detectors

with a resolution of 10. Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound

objects in the present day universe and are excellent for studying the properties of

the universe. The primary goal of APEX-SZ was to understand the complex physics

of galaxy clusters. By understanding their composition, number density, and evolution

we can better our understanding of the evolution of the universe into its present

state.

EBEX is a balloon-borne experiment that made observations of the CMB and

cosmic foreground during a science

ight from the Long Duration Balloon (LDB)

facility outside of McMurdo Station, Antarctica over the 2012-2013 austral summer.

It made observations of 6000 square degrees of sky using 872, 436, and 256 SWATES

bolometers at 150, 250, and 410 GHz detectors (respectively) with 80 resolution