11:00 am–12:00 pm ERC 401
Title: What Lies Beyond Lambda: Extracting New Physics in an Era of Cosmological Tensions
Abstract: The standard model of cosmology, LCDM, is built upon precise phenomenological hypotheses describing the behavior of the early, intermediate, and late-time Universe. The Cosmic Microwave Background, combined with multiple sets of optical data available from astronomical observatories, can constrain the six free parameters of LCDM; comparing these constraints has unveiled multiple tensions. A clear demonstration that late-time Dark Energy is not the cosmological constant would have profound implications for our understanding of nature's primary forms of energy. In this talk, we briefly review the status of the Smooth Paradigm of Cosmic Acceleration, given recent observational results. Finally, we highlight our efforts to advance inferences involving optical lensing and clustering using upcoming photometric data from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, including the use of AI to accelerate calculations, fulfilling its potential as a robust laboratory for testing new physics.
Zoom: https://uchicago.zoom.us/j/98910526387?pwd=nob2d2IMsbCCN5DaGnhZ1vgMNht3v5.1
