Probing the Universe with Cosmic Velocity Fields

宇宙学家非常兴奋地期待着下一代的宇宙学调查，但需要分析和统计工具来补充观测。该项目将开发各种形式，以充分利用即将到来的观测数据，并为大尺度结构、宇宙学和粒子物理学的前沿领域带来新的理解。这项研究将产生优雅而强大的统计数据来分析特殊的速度样本，这实际上是宇宙学中唯一的动态探测器，并将利用它们来研究大尺度结构、中微子质量估计和宇宙的物质含量。与宇宙微波背景、红移巡天或引力透镜等其他探测器相比，速度场直接对质量分布进行采样，不太容易受到偏差和传统先验问题的影响。这项工作将使特殊速度测量重新成为一种有用而独特的工具，用于研究各种宇宙尺度上的大规模质量分布。在这个项目中开发的统计、分析和数值方法对于探测宇宙数据集以收集有关基本过程的信息将是有价值的。此外，这些统计工具将有助于在许多研究领域提取相关信息，无论数据是嘈杂的和笨重的。PI深入参与了推广和向公众介绍科学创新的重要工作，广泛地前往不同的群体演讲，从小学到高中学生，到教堂，特殊兴趣团体和专业协会。其他需要继续努力的是那些涉及公共科学宣传和州立公立学校科学标准的工作。

AST-0807326FeldmanCosmologists look forward with great excitement to the next generation of cosmological surveys, but need the analytical and statistical tools to complement the observations. This project will develop formalisms to exploit to the fullest the upcoming observational data and to bring new understanding to the frontiers where large-scale structure, cosmology, and particle physics, all overlap. The research will produce elegant and powerful statistics to analyze peculiar velocity samples, virtually the only dynamical probe of cosmology, and will use them to study large scale structure, neutrino mass estimation, and the matter content of the Universe. Velocity fields sample the mass distribution directly and are less susceptible to problems of bias and conventional priors as compared to other probes such as the cosmic microwave background, redshift surveys, or gravitational lensing. This work will allow peculiar velocity surveys to re-emerge as a useful and unique tool to investigate the large-scale mass distribution on various cosmological scales. The statistical, analytical and numerical methods developed in this project will be valuable for probing cosmological data sets to gather information about fundamental processes.In addition, these statistical tools will help to extract relevant information in many areas of research whenever the data are noisy and unwieldy. The PI is deeply involved in the important work of outreach and the introduction of scientific innovation to the public, travelling widely to lecture to diverse groups, from elementary to high school students, to churches, special interest groups and professional societies. Other serious efforts to be continued are those involving public science advocacy and state public school science standards.