ACP Seminar (Astronomy - Cosmology - Particle Physics)

Speaker: Fabian Schmidt (Caltech)
Title: Probing Gravity with Large-Scale Structure
Date (JST): Thu, Apr 12, 2012, 14:00 - 15:00
Place: Seminar Room A
Related File: 640.pdf
Abstract: Testing our theory of gravity, General Relativity (GR), has become one of the main goals of cosmology, motivated in part by the discovery that our Universe is accelerating. Given that gravity is the main force governing the evolution of large-scale structure in the Universe, the latter can in principle be used to put precision constraints on gravity, probing scales ten orders of magnitude larger than those of classical Solar System tests. I will explain why this is a very challenging task, and show how analytical models and numerical simulations in conjunction with current data have enabled us take first steps in this direction. I will also show the fascinating prospects for upcoming, much larger data sets.