Cosmology and Astrophysics with SPHEREx

Yun-Ting Cheng (Caltech)

July 08, 2026

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Abstract: SPHEREx is a NASA near-infrared satellite mission launched in March 2025, currently conducting the first all-sky near-infrared spectral survey. I will begin with a brief overview of the mission, its current status, and some early science results. Then I will introduce the main scientific goals of SPHEREx, focusing on two: 1) constraining primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) from inflation, with a target precision of O(1) on the PNG amplitude parameter (f_NL); and 2) studying galaxy formation and evolution through intensity mapping of the extragalactic background light. I will walk through the science motivation, the analysis methodology, and our progress on these analyses within the SPHEREx science team.