Theoretical Physics Colloquium

Untangling the Cosmic Web

by Prof. Aseem Paranjape (Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune)

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 from to (Asia/Kolkata)
at AG69
Description
The formation of cosmological structure proceeds through progressively complex phases, from tiny, near-Gaussian primordial density fluctuations to the formation of gravitationally bound structures arranged in an intricate cosmic web of filaments, clusters and voids at late times. Unpacking the nonlinear information content of the late-time cosmic web is promising not only for understanding the growth of structure in our Universe, but also for addressing fundamental questions such as the nature of dark matter, dark energy and inflation. This task is made challenging by the multi-scale nature of the cosmic web, together with large astrophysical uncertainties in understanding the evolution of cosmological tracers such as galaxies and the inter-galactic medium. I will discuss some recent developments in untangling correlations between observables at the largest and smallest cosmologically relevant length scales. I will also briefly describe a novel probe of nonlinear cosmological information that is sensitive to a variety of primordial as well as late-time physics.
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