Cosmology and Large Scale Structure
Cosmology is the science that studies the Universe as a physical entity and explores its overall properties, formation and evolution. During its very early stages, the Universe went through a phase of very rapid expansion (inflationary phase), which, among other things, created tiny initial fluctuations in the matter density field. Gravity made these fluctuations grow, which caused matter to pile up, forming stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies. As a result, the universe is filled with a pattern, known as the Large Scale Structure of the Universe. This topic focuses on the processes that formed the structure we can observe today.
Kapteyn staff have long been interested in the fundamental structure of the Universe and the nature of dark matter.
We focus on the following topics:
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The nature of the initial conditions from which structure has evolved.
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The physical processes that govern the evolution of structure at each stage.
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The morphology and statistical properties of the Large Scale Structure of the Universe.
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The nature and amount of the dark matter and dark energy.
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Detection of the influence of first stars and mini-quasars, i.e., the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) via HI.
Many of these topics are tightly connected to the research theme Galaxy Structure, Formation and Evolution.
The selected projects and programs for the Kapteyn Institute in this field are the search of HI 21-cm emission from the EoR with LOFAR as well as theoretical studies of the processes during the EoR and Cosmic Dawn. Furthermore study of the Cosmic Web via theoretical studies as well as with APERTIF that will map 105 HI sources in the nearby Universe. Joint research is being done on the early-universe and inflationary physics with the institute of theoretical physics.
Future directions in the field of cosmology and large structure for the Kapteyn Institute include the analysis of Euclid data to study the emergence of the Cosmic Web since early cosmic times, which will be complemented later with the scientific exploitation of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA).
| Last modified: | 04 October 2023 4.35 p.m. |