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Duke Physics Colloquium: The connected universe: Relating Early, Intermediate and Late Universe with cosmological data

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Monday, February 04, 2019
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Vivian Miranda (University of Arizona)
Duke Physics Colloquium

"The connected universe: Relating Early, Intermediate and Late Universe with cosmological data" - The standard paradigm of cosmology is built upon a series of propositions about how the early, intermediate and late epochs of the universe behave. In particular, it predicts that the universe is currently filled with dark energy and dark matter. There is a broad assumption in cosmology that the universe on its earlier stages is fully understood and that discrepancies between the standard model of cosmology and current data are suggestive of distinct dark energy properties. However, uncertainties in this hypothesis are not usually taken into account when forecasting survey capabilities, even though our investigations might be obfuscated if the intermediate and early universe did behave slightly different than predicted. In this colloquium, I propose a program to investigate dark energy and earlier aspects of our universe simultaneously, through space missions in the 2020s in combination with current and upcoming ground-based observatories. This program will help guide the strategy for the future WFIRST supernovae and weak lensing surveys. My investigations on how properties of the early and intermediate universe affect inferences on dark energy (and vice-versa) will also support NASA's understanding of how future space missions can be used to test some of the core hypotheses of the standard model of cosmology. Faculty host: Chris Walter | Refreshments will be available at 3:15.

Contact: Cristin Paul