Cosmology from Surveys
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
It seems we live in a bizarre Universe. Recent measurements strongly favour a 'concordance' model in which the Universe is flat and contains approximately 4% baryons, 21% Cold Dark Matter and 75% Dark Energy .The concept of Dark Energy is a variant on Einstein's cosmological constant (Lambda). This 'Lambda+ Cold Dark Matter' paradigm and its extensions pose fundamental questions about the origins of the Universe. The Universe appears to have begun with a period of rapid inflation and eventually cooled into a dark world in which the first objects formed and re-ionized the Universe. Along with Dark Energy, these processes form the basis for research of this proposal. A unique feature of our Programme is that it brings together expertise in galaxy surveys, gravitational lensing, radio survey analysis and the CMB. The Programme also connects the UCL Cosmology and Instrumentation Teams. Since its foundation in 2004 the main focus of the Cosmology Team has been Dark Energy with heavy involvement and leadership roles in both the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and in the proposed ESA Euclid satellite. With the recruitment of two new members of staff in 2009 we have branched into the research areas of the Cosmic Microwave Background (utilizing the Planck satellite) and Radio Surveys (e.g. LOFAR). Therefore we have now a much broader coverage of modern Cosmology. We will estimate the properties of Dark Energy, constrain the physics of the very early Universe, study the phase change as the universe underwent Re-ionization, and potentially measure the mass of the neutrino for the first time. The proposed Programme is divided into four Themes, listed from low to high redshift: Theme 1 covers Cosmology from Photometric Redshift Surveys, Theme 2 is focused on Cosmic Shear from these surveys, Theme 3 explores Radio Surveys mainly for studying the Epoch of Re-ionization, and Theme 4 looks at the fundamental problems of the Early Universe, with the aid of data from Planck. The Cosmology Team at UCL is well placed for this project. The four applicants are very experienced in the fields of analyzing large galaxy surveys, designing surveys for weak lensing and for the Epoch of Re-ionization, and studying the early universe from the CMB, our best hope for uncovering fingerprints of the Physics operating at very high energy scales. The proposed Programme would allow us to maintain and enhance our leadership roles in international projects, and to train and inspire a young generation of Cosmologists.
Organisations
Publications
Kirk D
(2015)
Optimizing spectroscopic and photometric galaxy surveys: same-sky benefits for dark energy and modified gravity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kirk D
(2015)
Galaxy Alignments: Observations and Impact on Cosmology
in Space Science Reviews
Kirk D
(2013)
Optimizing cosmic shear surveys to measure modifications to gravity on cosmic scales
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kirk D
(2012)
The cosmological impact of intrinsic alignment model choice for cosmic shear Impact of intrinsic alignment model choice
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kirk Donnacha
(2011)
Optimising cosmic shear surveys to measure modifications to gravity on cosmic scales
in ArXiv e-prints
Kitching T
(2012)
Image analysis for cosmology: results from the GREAT10 Galaxy Challenge GREAT10 Galaxy Challenge
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lahav O
(2014)
Dark energy, paradigm shifts, and the role of evidence
in Astronomy & Geophysics
Lahav O
(2020)
Dark Energy: is it 'just' Einstein's Cosmological Constant ??
in Contemporary Physics
Lahav Ofer
(2014)
The Cosmological Parameters 2014
in arXiv e-prints
Lahav Ofer
(2012)
ANNz: Artificial Neural Networks for estimating photometric redshifts
in Astrophysics Source Code Library
Leistedt B
(2013)
Estimating the large-scale angular power spectrum in the presence of systematics: a case study of Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Leistedt B
(2014)
Exploiting the full potential of photometric quasar surveys: optimal power spectra through blind mitigation of systematics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Leistedt B
(2014)
Constraints on Primordial Non-Gaussianity from 800 000 Photometric Quasars.
in Physical review letters
Leistedt B
(2014)
No new cosmological concordance with massive sterile neutrinos.
in Physical review letters
Leistedt B.
(2015)
Mapping and simulating systematics due to spatially-varying observing conditions in DES Science Verification data
in ArXiv e-prints
Levi Michael
(2013)
The DESI Experiment, a whitepaper for Snowmass 2013
in arXiv e-prints
Maartens Roy
(2015)
Cosmology with the SKA -- overview
in arXiv e-prints
Mandelbaum R
(2011)
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: direct constraints on blue galaxy intrinsic alignments at intermediate redshifts WiggleZ intrinsic alignments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Markovic K
(2011)
Constraining warm dark matter with cosmic shear power spectra
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
McEwen J
(2013)
Bayesian analysis of anisotropic cosmologies: Bianchi VIIh and WMAP
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McEwen J
(2012)
Optimal filters for detecting cosmic bubble collisions
in Physical Review D
Medezinski E
(2013)
CLASH: COMPLETE LENSING ANALYSIS OF THE LARGEST COSMIC LENS MACS J0717.5+3745 AND SURROUNDING STRUCTURES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Melchior P
(2015)
Mass and galaxy distributions of four massive galaxy clusters from Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Title | Hosting artists in residence |
Description | We have hosted artists in residence who were inspired by Dark Energy studies |
Type Of Art | Artwork |
Year Produced | 2014 |
Impact | - Artist Katie Paterson (on Leverhulme grant; PI: Lahav) presented her work in museums around the world - Artist Marie Kaus produced art work on dark energy, on display at UCL Observatory at Mill Hill |
Description | This grant is finished but this section can be updated at a later date if details required. This grant laid the foundations for preparations for the Dark Energy Survey, where we have played leadership roles The Dark Energy Survey is now complete, but data are sill analysed. The survey has produced so far produced over 350 papers (as of March 2020), some of them led by our group. In addition, the grant provided support for theoretical studies in cosmology and other probes such as the CMB. |
Exploitation Route | Published in ArXiv (Green open access) and refereed journals This grant was followed by the Consolidated Grants (2012-2015; 2015-2019; 2018-21). This grant led to 3 ERC grants: Bridle (Starting Grant) Lahav (Advanced Grant), Peiris (Starting Grant). |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education |
URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/star |
Description | This grant is finished but this section can be updated at a later date if details required. - Media interviews and press releases - Artist Katie Paterson (on Leverhulme grant; PI: Lahav) presented her work in museums around the world , and artist Marie Kaus produced art work on dark energy, on display at UCL Observatory at Mill Hill |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Advance ERC grant |
Amount | € 2,400,000 (EUR) |
Funding ID | FP7/291329 |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 04/2012 |
End | 04/2018 |
Title | Optics and statistical methods |
Description | - designing optical corrector for wide field multi object spectroscopy - developing statistics of cross correlations of imaging and spectroscopic surveys (Kirk et al.) - developing methods for selecting candidates of emission lines galaxies from imaging surveys |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2014 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | See above |
Description | Book: "The Dark Energy Survey: The Story of a Cosmological Experiment" (edited by O. Lahav et al.) published by World Scientific (2020) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | "The Dark Energy Survey: The Story of a Cosmological Experiment" (edited by O. Lahav et al.) published by World Scientific (2020) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/q0247 |
Description | press release and interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | a press release on DESI (which succeeded DESpec) Interviewed in at article on DESI in Physics Today (Oct 2016) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |