Title:	Deciphering the initial conditions and formation history of cosmic structure
DNr:	SNIC 2022/2-19
Project Type:	SNIC Large Storage
Principal Investigator:	Jens Jasche <jens.jasche@fysik.su.se>
Affiliation:	Stockholms universitet
Duration:	2022-07-01 – 2023-01-01
Classification:	10305
Homepage:	https://www.aquila-consortium.org
Keywords:

Abstract

This proposal is part of a five-year campaign to determine the initial conditions of our Universe, using novel data science techniques and next-generation cosmological observation. During the next five years, we seek to reconstruct the cosmic initial conditions over a significant fraction of the observable Universe aiming to construct a physically consistent computer model of our Universe. The initial conditions of our Universe are a fundamental property of our Universe. Together with the laws of physics, they determine the phenomenological appearance and dynamical evolution of our Universe. However, the physical processes determining the origin of cosmic structure and the accelerating cosmic expansion remain mysterious. Cosmology now turns to search for observational fingerprints robustly predicted by physical models of these phenomena in the spatial distribution of cosmic matter as traced by galaxies in cosmological surveys. According to the current paradigm, all observable structures originate from primordial quantum fluctuations generated during the early epoch of inflation in a hot big bang scenario. These seed fluctuations grew via gravitational amplification to form a giant cosmic web of dark matter aggregating in massive clusters and filamentary cosmic structures. The detailed spatial configuration and dynamics of the cosmic matter distribution retain memory on the initial conditions and the physical processes that shaped it over 13.8 billion years of cosmic history. Detailed reconstruction of the spatial matter distribution and its dynamics from galaxy surveys provides us with important information to test fundamental physics and study the evolution of the Universe. We will use novel data analysis and machine learning techniques developed by our group to reconstruct, for the first time, the largest and most detailed map of the three-dimensional seed fluctuations from which observed structures formed. Specifically, we will use extensions of our algorithm for Bayesian Origin Reconstruction from Galaxies (BORG) to fit cosmological N-body simulations in their full generality to the available galaxy catalogs of the SDSS-III's Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Additional surveys, such as the Euclid satellite mission, SphereX, and the Vera Rubin Observatory, will soon commence operations providing unprecedented amounts of data. Using such data, we seek to infer the cosmic matter distribution over an unprecedented cosmological volume of (8 Gpc)^3. Obtained results will be used to study the true nature of the cosmic origin and test the theory of inflation. We will also constrain cosmological parameters, specifically the equation of state of dark energy, which is held responsible for the currently observed accelerating expansion of the Universe. We also aim at cross-analyzing our reconstructed dark matter maps with observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The project is especially timely with respect to coming cosmological surveys. Besides producing significant scientific results, the proposed project also acts as a necessary test for next-generation galaxy surveys, e.g., Vera Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time or Euclid. We will further provide the community with accurate and detailed reconstructions of the cosmic matter distribution and velocity fields, facilitating many secondary research projects with collaborators and multiplying the scientific outcome of the proposed research.