As the universe expanded from the Big Bang, regions where the density of matter was higher than average grew into galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The overall form of the universe and the evolution of galaxies within it have been shaped by a delicate balance of two competing forces – the inward gravitational pull of matter, dominated by dark matter, and the outward stretching of space, controlled by a mysterious force called dark energy. In this lecture, I will describe how we can gain an understanding of these hidden elements by measuring the properties of galaxies and the web of structure they form. The Dark Energy Survey (DES) has done this for one-eighth of the sky, observing and measuring more than 100 million galaxies. I will illustrate how we use DES images of this huge number of galaxies to trace the growth of structure and measure the expansion of the universe under the influence of its dark components.
Past
Event
· public lecture
The Tug of War that Shapes the Universe
Presented by Justin Myles
About Justin Myles
Justin Myles is a PhD candidate in physics at Stanford University with a focus on astrophysics and cosmology. Justin’s research uses observations of the largest structures in the universe – galaxies and clusters of galaxies – to understand its past and future development. He is a member of the Dark Energy Survey collaboration that has collected detailed images covering a large swath of the sky from a telescope in Chile. Using the data from these images of galaxies and the hot clouds of gas in which they are often found, Justin is working to extract the basic parameters governing the expansion of the universe.
Past
Event
· public lecture
The Tug of War that Shapes the Universe
Presented by Justin Myles
Public Lectures
The Tug of War that Shapes the Universe
September 30, 2021
Public lecture presented by Justin Myles
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Thursday, September 30, 2021
10:00–11:00 a.m. PDT
10:00–11:00 a.m. PDT