This lecture is a part of Tsinghua University’s Global Open Course, “China’s Perspective on Global Development Initiative”. From ancient time, human beings have never stopped seeking the mysteries of the Universe. At present, astronomy has entered a golden age of multi-messenger and multiwavelength. In the past ten years, astronomy and astrophysics have won the Nobel Prize five times. At the same time, these new international discoveries have also greatly promoted the exploration of the early universe. In this report, the speaker will introduce a systematic new survey on the large-scale structure of the early universe, and introduce how this survey can change human understanding of the early universe. The speaker will combine the experience of the actual usage of the largest space and ground-based telescopes, and introduce how to use wide-field imaging and spectroscopy to detect faint signals with high precision. Further, speaker will introduce the MUST telescope led by Tsinghua, and this project will allow us to explore the vast universe and create a better future for mankind.
Instructor
Zheng Cai, associate professor at Tsinghua University. He received a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Arizona in 2015. From 2015 to 2019, he was awarded as a “NASA Hubble Fellow” and working at University of California at Santa Cruz. In 2019, he joined the Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University. He discovered the early large-scale structure of the universe, discovered the brightest nebula in the early universe, and explained the origin of metals in the interstellar medium. Zheng Cai served as a principle investigator (PI) in a few programs in James Webb Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and the largest ground-based telescopes. He is also involved in the development of new telescopes and instruments, and he lets the construction of the world’s largest spectroscopic survey telescope (MUST).
List of lectures
Course Background
In 2021, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. In response, Tsinghua University developed and launched the graduate course, namely “China’s Perspective on Global Development Initiative” for 2022 Autumn semester, presenting the latest development of China’s society, economy, culture, and science and technology. This course will introduce the frontiers in research and relevant practices in China, focusing on digital economy, poverty reduction, COVID medication and vaccine, development financing, climate change and green development, interconnection, and other fields.
