Exploring the Universe with radio and optical galaxy surveys

在过去的二十年里，我们进入了宇宙学的“黄金时代”。通过卫星和地面望远镜，我们收集了来自早期宇宙的高质量数据，主要是来自大爆炸后发出的光，以及来自晚期宇宙的，通过恒星和星系发出的光。然而，我们宇宙的历史和体积的很大一部分仍未被探索。应对这一挑战的一种方法是观察中性氢（HI）发出的光，这些氢在大爆炸之后和第一个星系形成之前很长一段时间内充满了宇宙。在那之后，HI就存在于星系中，所以我们也可以把它作为一种研究晚期宇宙的新方法。这是我的主要研究领域；这是令人兴奋的，因为它打开了一扇观察宇宙的新窗口，可以突破我们对天体物理学和宇宙学的理解。在接下来的几年里，将使用射电望远镜进行灵敏度极高的HI调查，并且部分拟议的研究正在研究新技术，以便最大限度地提高它们的科学产出。我开创了一种新的观测方法，它不需要对单个星系进行困难和昂贵的探测，而是将来自许多星系的整个HI通量绘制成大的3D像素（横跨天空和时间）。我的目标是利用MeerKAT和SKA阵列的高强度测绘数据，使用这种技术来提供宇宙的3D地图。MeerKAT是一个位于南非卡鲁的射电望远镜，它是平方公里阵列（SKA）的探路者，它将成为世界上最大的射电望远镜。我的主要目标是建立一个完整的管道，对MeerKAT和SKA等仪器发出的高强度测绘信号进行宇宙学分析。该管道还将通过包括相互关联数据分析工具，说明HI与传统光学星系调查之间强大协同作用的可能性。这对于获得没有系统污染的测量是有用的，这些污染经常困扰着单个调查（但在结合它们时就会消失），因此更可靠。我的目标是使用强度映射技术在无线电波长中进行HI和宇宙学参数的首次测量，利用多波长协同作用，并彻底改变我们对星系演化和暗能量的理解。我还参与了未来十年最大、最好的两个光学星系调查，欧几里得卫星任务和地面大型综合巡天望远镜，它们的主要目标是测量暗能量和了解宇宙的初始条件。在欧几里德，我正在从事各种各样的项目，包括构建软件工具，这些工具将在数据可用时用于分析数据。我也在从事非常具有挑战性的任务，即在小尺度上对星系的聚集方式进行建模，以便为宇宙学提取有用的信息。我也在使用量身定制的模拟来评估欧几里得在多大程度上可以测量最大的宇宙尺度，以表征宇宙的初始条件。在欧几里德和LSST中，我都在研究无线电实验的协同作用。我的目标是找到创新的方法，将光学和无线电调查最佳地结合起来，以最大限度地提高它们的联合科学产出。进行这些调查的另一个令人兴奋的部分是可以获得大量的数据。例如，SKA第一阶段预计每年将产生300拍字节的数据产品。我的研究包括开发现代化和创新的数据处理和分析管道，这是这些惊人调查成功所必需的。

During the last two decades we have entered a "golden era" of cosmology. Using satellites and ground based telescopes we have gathered high quality data from the very early Universe, essentially from light emitted right after the Big Bang explosion, as well as from the late Universe, through the light emitted from stars and galaxies.However, a big part of our Universe's history and volume remains unexplored. A way to attack this challenge is by observing the light emitted from the neutral hydrogen (HI) that filled the Universe for a long time after the Big Bang and before the first galaxies were formed. After that time HI resides within galaxies, so we can also use it as a novel way to study the late Universe. This is my main area of research; it is exciting because it opens a new observational window into the Universe and can push the boundaries of our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology.In the next few years, HI surveys of exquisite sensitivity will be performed using radio telescopes, and part of the proposed research is working on new techniques in order to maximise their science output. I have pioneered a new observational method that does not require the -difficult and expensive- detection of individual galaxies but maps the entire HI flux coming from many galaxies together in large 3D pixels (across the sky and along time). I aim to use this technique to provide a 3D map of the Universe using HI intensity mapping data from the MeerKAT and SKA arrays. MeerKAT is a radio telescope located in Karoo, South Africa, and it is a pathfinder for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which is going to be the largest radio telescope in the world.My main goal is to build a complete pipeline for the cosmological analysis of the HI intensity mapping signal from instruments like MeerKAT and the SKA. This pipeline will also account for the possibility of powerful synergies between HI and traditional optical galaxy surveys, by including cross-correlations data analysis tools. This is useful in order to obtain measurements that are free of systematic contaminations that often plague individual surveys (but drop out when combining them), and therefore more robust. I aim to perform the first ever measurements of HI and cosmological parameters in the radio wavelength using the intensity mapping technique, exploit multi-wavelength synergies, and revolutionarise our understanding of galaxy evolution and dark energy. I am also working on two of the largest and best optical galaxy surveys of the next decade, the Euclid satellite mission and the ground-based Large Synoptic Survey telescope, whose main goals are to measure dark energy and understand the initial conditions of the Universe. In Euclid, I am working on various projects including building the software tools that are going to be used for the analysis of the data as soon as they become available. I am also working on the very challenging task of modelling the way galaxies cluster on small scales, in order to extract useful information for cosmology. I am also using tailored simulations to assess how well Euclid will measure the largest cosmological scales in order to characterise the initial conditions of the Universe. In both Euclid and LSST, I am working on synergies with radio experiments. My goal is to find innovative ways to optimally combine optical and radio surveys, in order to maximise their joint scientific output. Another exciting part of working with these surveys is the huge amount of data that are going to be available. For example, the Phase 1 of the SKA is expected to generate 300 petabytes of data products every year. My research includes developing modernised and innovative data processing and analysis pipelines, which is required for the success of these amazing surveys.