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Charlotte Braithwaite
Teams and roles for Charlotte Braithwaite
Research Associate
Overview
I am a postgraduate researcher, working on the characterisation of optical devices for sub-millimetre telescopes and I am supervised by Prof. Carole Tucker and Prof. Erminia Calabrese. I started my PhD project in October 2019 after obtaining my MPhys in Astrophysics at Cardiff University.
I am a member of the Simons Observatory Collaboration (SO) and as such my research predominately focuses on devices designed for observing the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB), such as sapphire half wave plates (HWPs). The primary goal is to be able to measure and compare devices to models to see how much they deviate from the expected profile and to feed this through the analysis pipeline within the collaboration.
Publication
2026
- Braithwaite, C. et al. 2026. Performance of a metal mesh half wave plate designed for sub-mm studies. Presented at: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2026 Copenhagen, Denmark 5-10 July 2026. Published in: Zmuidzinas, J. and Gao, J. eds. Proceedings of SPIE, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy XIII. Vol. 14156.SPIE. , pp.187. (10.1117/12.3102070)
- Abril-Cabezas, I. et al., 2026. The Simons Observatory: forecasted constraints on primordial gravitational waves with the expanded array of Small Aperture Telescopes. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2026 (04) 051. (10.1088/1475-7516/2026/04/051)
2025
- Abitbol, M. et al., 2025. The Simons Observatory: science goals and forecasts for the enhanced Large Aperture Telescope. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2025 (8) 34. (10.1088/1475-7516/2025/08/034)
- The Simons Observatory Collaboration, et al., 2025. The Simons Observatory: Science goals and forecasts for the enhanced large aperture telescope. arXiv (10.48550/arXiv.2503.00636)
2024
- Lyons, M. et al. 2024. Development and precision characterisation of broadband anti-reflection-coated mm-wave components. Presented at: Space Telescopes and Instrumentation: Optical Infrared and Millimeter Wave Yokohama, Japan 16–21 June 2024. Published in: Coyle, L. E. , Matsuura, S. and Perrin, M. D. eds. Proceedings, Space Telescopes and instrumentation: Optical Infrared and Millimeter Wave. Vol. 13092.SPIE. , pp.211-1309276. (10.1117/12.3018886)
- Braithwaite, C. et al. 2024. A study on the performance of half-wave plates designed for sub-mm studies. Presented at: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation Yokohama, Japan 15-20 June 2024. Proc. SPIE 13096: Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy X. SPIE. (10.1117/12.3019262)
2023
- Braithwaite, C. 2023. Spectral characterisation of half-wave plates for Cosmic Microwave Background B-mode studies. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
Articles
- Abril-Cabezas, I. et al., 2026. The Simons Observatory: forecasted constraints on primordial gravitational waves with the expanded array of Small Aperture Telescopes. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2026 (04) 051. (10.1088/1475-7516/2026/04/051)
- Abitbol, M. et al., 2025. The Simons Observatory: science goals and forecasts for the enhanced Large Aperture Telescope. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2025 (8) 34. (10.1088/1475-7516/2025/08/034)
- The Simons Observatory Collaboration, et al., 2025. The Simons Observatory: Science goals and forecasts for the enhanced large aperture telescope. arXiv (10.48550/arXiv.2503.00636)
Conferences
- Braithwaite, C. et al. 2026. Performance of a metal mesh half wave plate designed for sub-mm studies. Presented at: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2026 Copenhagen, Denmark 5-10 July 2026. Published in: Zmuidzinas, J. and Gao, J. eds. Proceedings of SPIE, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy XIII. Vol. 14156.SPIE. , pp.187. (10.1117/12.3102070)
- Lyons, M. et al. 2024. Development and precision characterisation of broadband anti-reflection-coated mm-wave components. Presented at: Space Telescopes and Instrumentation: Optical Infrared and Millimeter Wave Yokohama, Japan 16–21 June 2024. Published in: Coyle, L. E. , Matsuura, S. and Perrin, M. D. eds. Proceedings, Space Telescopes and instrumentation: Optical Infrared and Millimeter Wave. Vol. 13092.SPIE. , pp.211-1309276. (10.1117/12.3018886)
- Braithwaite, C. et al. 2024. A study on the performance of half-wave plates designed for sub-mm studies. Presented at: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation Yokohama, Japan 15-20 June 2024. Proc. SPIE 13096: Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy X. SPIE. (10.1117/12.3019262)
Thesis
- Braithwaite, C. 2023. Spectral characterisation of half-wave plates for Cosmic Microwave Background B-mode studies. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.