Constraining Structure Formation Physics with the Lyman-alpha Forest

Speaker: Brant Robertson (UCSC)
Series: Galaxies Discussion Group
Also open online: the joining details are on the talk's page.

The statistical properties of intergalactic neutral hydrogen absorption signatures known as the Lyman-alpha forest have long been used to great effect in learning about the evolution of cosmic structures. Current and forthcoming spectroscopic facilities will provide unprecedented data on the Lyman-alpha forest, making this an exciting time to study this observational probe. We will discuss how comparisons between the Lyman-alpha forest data and new multi-trillion cell + particle cosmological simulations can be used to constrain the physics of structure formation including the possible time-evolution of dark energy.