News

Mr. Kiyoshi Ikuma, a first-year doctoral student in the Graduate School of Environmental, Life and Natural Sciences at Okayama University and a member of our laboratory, received the Student Outstanding Presentation Award at the 80th Annual Meeting (2025) of the Physical Society of Japan. Congratulations to Mr. Ikuma on this achievement. His award is also introduced on the Department of Physics website. The title of his presentation was “Novel Hybrid Delta-map: Fusion of Spherical Harmonic Templates and Real- space Analysis for Large Angular Scale CMB Foreground Removal”

On November 7, 2025, Guillaume Patanchon (Visiting Researcher at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo, and Associate Professor at the University of Paris), Associate Professor Tomotake Matsumura, and first-year doctoral student Ryosuke Akizawa from Kavli IPMU visited Okayama University. During their visit, they exchanged views on topics related to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and satellite missions. The discussions provided a valuable opportunity to deepen our understanding of CMB observations and data analysis.

From October 1 to October 31, 2025, first-year doctoral student Ikuma visited the research group of Director Komatsu at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) in Garching near Munich. During his stay, he presented his own research on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and exchanged ideas on related projects and analysis methods being pursued at MPA. Through group meetings and individual discussions, he received concrete advice on his ongoing work. He also gave an internal seminar at MPA to present his research. This visit provided him with valuable insights that will be beneficial for his future research.

On October 21, 2025, We had a welcome party for Associate Professor Shunsuke Adachi who joined the Astrophysics Laboratory at Okayama University in this October. We had a very pleasant time, enjoying dishes made with delicious vegetables grew at Okayama.

From September 16–19, 2025, at Hiroshima University, Assistant Professor Takaku, Ikuma (D1), Higuchi (M2), and Kakinoki (M1) delivered talks at the meeting of the Physical Society of Japan (JPS).

Each presenter shared the results of ongoing research with an audience of researchers and students. The Q&A featured sharp, thought-provoking questions that provided fresh insights. Overall, it was a highly productive conference that helped us take stock of our progress and set clear challenges for the next stage.

After the meeting, we enjoyed a delicious okonomiyaki restaurant near Hiroshima Station—the perfect way to shake off conference fatigue!

Associate Professor Shunsuke Adachi has joined the Astrophysics Laboratory at Okayama University. Prof. Adachi has been working to unravel the mysteries of the early universe through ground-based observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Going forward, the group will advance CMB research with a multifaceted approach, placing emphasis on both satellite and ground-based observations.

The approximately four-month internships of Léo Modart and Loaëc Paol (Grenoble INP Phelma), which began in May, have come to a close.

Léo worked with Nagano from our lab on “Evaluation of Systematic Errors in CMB Polarization Observations,” while Loaëc worked with Kakinoki on “Development of Superconducting Detectors Using Indium.”

At the final research presentations, they summarized their four months of results, and we held in-depth discussions with lab members. At the end of August, we organized a farewell gathering and enjoyed Japanese food together at an izakaya.

We wish both of them every success in their future endeavors!

M2 student Higuchi and M1 student Kakinoki attended an FPGA workshop held on July 31–August 1. Our laboratory is developing an FPGA-based readout system for superconducting detectors aimed at solar neutrino detection, and—given the limited availability of accessible FPGA resources—we found the workshop highly informative and gained many useful insights.

Léo Modart and Loaëc Paol, currently with us as interns from Grenoble Institute of Technology, gave their midterm presentations. They’ve been working steadily day by day, and their results are gradually taking shape. We’re excited to see what comes next.
On the same day, we were delighted to welcome Guillaume Patanchon, who offered warm advice and many helpful suggestions on our research. We are grateful for his visit.

Assistant Professor Ryota Takaku participated in the Low Temperature Detectors Conference 2025 (LTD 2025) held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, from June 1 to 6. He gave a poster presentation titled “Development of Electron Neutrino Detectors Using MKID and Indium Targets with Micro‑Machined Mask,” introducing our research and engaging in lively discussions with conference participants.