Physics Colloquium | Mapping The Invisible Universe Across Space and Cosmic Time with the James Webb Space Telescope, Oct 23

The Physics & Astronomy Colloquium Series presents Diana Scognamiglio of Duke University, discussing "Mapping The Invisible Universe Across Space and Cosmic Time with the James Webb Space Telescope" on October 23.

Abstract: Most of the matter in the Universe is invisible. Known as dark matter, its gravity shapes the formation and evolution of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and the cosmic web. Weak gravitational lensing allows us to map its distribution through the subtle distortions it produces in the shapes of distant galaxies.

Exploiting the exceptional sensitivity and angular resolution of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we reconstruct the dark matter distribution across the 0.54 sq. deg. COSMOS-Web field, achieving a resolution of approximately 1 arcmin, more than twice as high as previous Hubble Space Telescope reconstructions.

The resulting map reveals the cosmic web in unprecedented detail, including galaxy clusters previously undetected. We extend this view into three dimensions by combining weak lensing observations with physics-constrained generative models, reconstructing the matter distribution across cosmic time while quantifying uncertainties. Together, these 2D and 3D maps provide new insights into the invisible Universe and establish a high-resolution benchmark for ongoing cosmological surveys like Euclid and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope