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Matsumura Lab
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A lab that approaches the beginning of the universe through the polarization of its oldest light.
AboutAbout the lab
Testing the beginning of the universe with CMB polarization
The Matsumura Lab (Kavli IPMU CMB Group) studies the physics of the early universe through polarization observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
If inflation occurred in the very early universe, primordial gravitational waves are predicted to leave a distinctive pattern in the CMB polarization, known as B-modes.
The lab takes part in CMB experiments that search for this pattern, working on instrument development, simulations, and data analysis.
International collaboration is essential in this field, and the lab works in an international environment that is half English and half Japanese.
Key terms
- Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
- Light from shortly after the universe was born, whose wavelength has been stretched by the expansion of the universe and which now reaches us as radio waves from the entire sky.
- Inflation
- The idea that space expanded extremely rapidly during a very brief period immediately after the universe was born.
- Polarization
- A bias in the direction in which the waves of light oscillate.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab participates in CMB experiments that test the inflation hypothesis, working on everything from developing observation instruments to simulations and data analysis. Whether on satellites, ground-based telescopes, or balloons, the lab pursues observational cosmology in which researchers build their own instruments, make measurements, construct models to explain the results, and make new predictions.
*Illustrative imageLiteBIRD, a CMB polarization satellite
LiteBIRD, selected as Strategic Medium-class Mission No. 2 of JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, is a satellite project specialized in searching for B-modes from primordial gravitational waves. The Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) is carrying out research toward providing the polarization modulator mounted on the Low-Frequency Telescope and handling data analysis.
*Illustrative imageGround-based telescope: Simons Observatory
Simons Observatory is a next-generation ground-based CMB telescope observing from the Atacama Desert in Chile. The Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) participates mainly through the small-aperture telescopes.
*Illustrative imageMillimeter-wave and terahertz optical components
The lab develops millimeter-wave and terahertz optical components, such as lenses, wave plates, filters, and absorbers, with high precision and wide bandwidth, and also develops methods for measuring them precisely.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping mechanisms that operate at cryogenic temperatures
Mechanisms that operate at the temperatures of liquid nitrogen or helium are a challenging technical problem. Using techniques such as superconducting technology, the lab develops mechanisms that operate with minimal heat generation, with the aim of installing them on satellites.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Matsumura Lab consist of faculty, postdocs, graduate students, research support staff, senior fellows, and affiliated members.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorTomotake MatsumuraPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “LAT SO” Flucerod / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- LiteBIRD, a CMB polarization satellite: “LiteBIRD CG03” JAXA
（ISAS ギャラリー https://isas-gallery.jp/3853） / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Ground-based telescope: Simons Observatory: “SO SAT render” Sdicker / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Millimeter-wave and terahertz optical components: “Optical-waveplate-1inch” Geek3 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Developing mechanisms that operate at cryogenic temperatures: “Magnetic levitation of a superconductor” Your stepbro sunset / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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