The DUEL (Dark Universe with
Extragalactic Lensing) Network:
The Network:
The DUEL network is a European
Community Research and Training Network, composed of researchers in
Gravitational Lensing at Astronomical Institutes in:
1.
2.
3. Institut d’Astrophysique
de Paris (IAP),
4. Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio
Astronomico di Capodimonte, Naples
[OAC]
5. Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet
Heidelberg [ITA]
6. Rheinische
Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet Bonn [AIfA]
7. Ludwig Maximillians Universitaet Muenchen [USM]
8.
The Network starts in January 2007 and will run for 4 years.
Aims:
The aims of DUEL are to
exploit imminent, large-scale imaging and multi-wavelength galaxy surveys and
prepare for future gravitational lensing surveys. The analysis of these surveys will map out the 3-dimensional distribution
of Dark Matter over a large volume of the observable Unive
Overview:
The
DUEL Network will study the growth of structure using weak gravitational
lensing, a technique that has been in development since the 1990s. It involves measuring shapes of galaxies very
accurately, and deducing coherent distortion patterns from these: they are the
signature of gravitational fields along the line of sight. It is possible to
disentangle the distortion pattern and deduce the distribution of the (mostly
dark) matter responsible for them. By mapping out the evolution of the
distribution pattern with distance to the source galaxies, we can trace the
growth of structure, and this is the fundamental diagnostic we are
targeting. We will then address several
major cosmological questions that can be explored with weak lensing
information: the properties and evolution of dark energy in the universe, the
properties of dark matter distribution and its relation with the inflation period
that occurred during the very early stage of the universe the universe, and the
relations between luminous and dark matter and its relation with galaxy
formation processes.
In
order to study weak lensing, we are participating in and will analyse three
large astronomical surveys that are being conducted specifically for this
application: the
The
Network will be appointing 7 PhD students and 7 Postdoctoral Fellows in the
next few years, who will each specialize in one of
these aspects, while at the same time acquiring a working knowledge of the
other facets of the project. As a result, they should be well-trained to be a
part of future generations of similar surveys, using facilities on earth and in
space that are now on the drawing board.
For
further information about the DUEL Network contact:
Dr
Andrew N. Taylor
DUEL
Coordinator
Institute for Astronomy
Royal
Observatory
Blackford
Hill
EH9
3HJ
Email:
ant@roe.ac.uk