Cosmic Web Reconstruction: A Unique Opportunity to Study the Cosmic Structures of the Universe

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Understanding how matter is distributed in the Universe is key to developing accurate models of how it evolved. The investigators will use mapping of filamentary structures in large samples of galaxies as a new indicator of large scale structure that can then be compared to other data. They seek to trace the cosmic web from these data. Broader impacts of the work include training of a graduate student, and engagement of the broader community through public lectures at the Allegheny Observatory, online educational games, and existing programs for middle school students. The research will cross correlate the new data with other cosmological observables like Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and study intrinsic galaxy shapes with filaments. The group has developed a method for identifying filaments in purely photometric data and, with this award, will develop a pre-existing prototype into a reconstruction tool. They will then apply the tool to simulated data.