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Building Fake Universes: testing cosmic physics with computersProfessor Carlton Baugh, Durham UniversityComputer simulations have a central role to play in the race to uncover
the ingredients of the Universe and to understand how galaxies are made. The
computer is the cosmologist's equivalent of the chemist's laboratory bench --
new ideas about the composition of the dark matter, the nature of dark energy,
and the impact of supernovae on the gas inside galaxies can be tested out by
trying to build replicas of the real Universe. Success is judged by how close
the computer generated forgeries are to the observed Universe. I will review
the current state-of-the-art in simulations of structure formation. Carlton Baugh is a professor in the Department of Physics
at Durham University, and a member of the Institute for Computational Cosmology.
His research interests include modelling the physics of galaxy formation and
devising new ways to measure dark energy using the large-scale structure of the
Universe. He is a member of the Euclid Consortium, the European Space Agency's
Dark Energy Mission, responsible for producing mock catalogues. He's the
project scientist of two Framework Program 7 Marie Curie Projects, the CosmoComp Initial Training Network and the LACEGAL International Research Staff Exchange Scheme. The lecture will be followed by a wine reception in the RAS Library.
Website: www.ras.org.uk
Website: www.ras.org.uk
Website: www.ras.org.uk
the ingredients of the Universe and to understand how galaxies are made. The
computer is the cosmologist's equivalent of the chemist's laboratory bench --
new ideas about the composition of the dark matter, the nature of dark energy,
and the impact of supernovae on the gas inside galaxies can be tested out by
trying to build replicas of the real Universe. Success is judged by how close
the computer generated forgeries are to the observed Universe. I will review
the current state-of-the-art in simulations of structure formation. Carlton Baugh is a professor in the Department of Physics
at Durham University, and a member of the Institute for Computational Cosmology.
His research interests include modelling the physics of galaxy formation and
devising new ways to measure dark energy using the large-scale structure of the
Universe. He is a member of the Euclid Consortium, the European Space Agency's
Dark Energy Mission, responsible for producing mock catalogues. He's the
project scientist of two Framework Program 7 Marie Curie Projects, the CosmoComp Initial Training Network and the LACEGAL International Research Staff Exchange Scheme. The lecture will be followed by a wine reception in the RAS Library.
Website: www.ras.org.uk
Website: www.ras.org.uk
Website: www.ras.org.uk