Talk Title and Abstract:
A
new
approach
to
cosmological
simulations
The
next
generation
of
astronomical
observatories
bring
a
realistic prospect
of
paradigm-shifting
constraints
on
the
nature
of
dark
matter and
dark
energy,
both
through
deeper
observations
of
large
scale structure
and
by
pushing
to
fainter
surface
brightness
galaxies.
I
will discuss
the
unique
computational
challenges
that
producing
simulations for
this
era
pose.
On
the
one
hand
we
wish
to
simulate
large
volumes
to gain
representative
samples
of
galaxies
and
to
understand
the cosmological
implications
of
forthcoming
survey
data
from
e.g.
LSST.
On the
other,
we
also
want
to
maintain
very
high
resolution
to
resolve highly
non-linear
astrophysical
processes
and
internal
kinematics
for
Gaia,
MaNGA
and
the
like.
These
two
requirements
result
in
a
tension
on
how
to
best
spend limited
computer
time.
I
will
argue
that
a
new
approach
to
simulations, in
which
we
use
statistical
models
to
tailor
cosmological
initial conditions
for
different
questions,
can
help
relieve
this
tension.
I will
mainly
focus
on
recent
applications
to
understanding
the
diversity of
dwarf
galaxies,
and
will
also
give
a
quicker
overview
of
results
for higher
mass
galaxies
and
large
scale
structure.
Would you like to join this Zoom seminar? Please e-mail WCA.