NSF REU at K-State: Interactions of Matter, Light and Learning

The K-State REU program offers summer fellowships to do world-class research in our friendly physics department in the scenic Flinthills. We are funded by the National Science Foundation.

Cosmology

Lado Samushia (Remote Guidance)

E-mail: lado@phys.ksu.edu

The universe used to be extremely homogeneous (same matter density everywhere) in the past but is currently very inhomogeneous (clusters of galaxies with lots of empty space in between). The growth of structure is a complicated process. Physicists run large computer simulations to understand it better. Some physics responsible for structure formation, such as gravitational pull between matter particles, is relatively simple to model. Other types of physics, such as temperature and pressure distributions and star formation, are significantly more complex and require orders of magnitude more computational time. We have fewer computer simulations that model all the relevant physics than purely gravity simulations. An international team of scientists recently ran matching sets of simulations. One simulation has only gravitational effects while the other has extra physics. The simulations are otherwise identical. The goal of the project is to figure out what difference ignoring the more complicated physical effects has on simulations. Which measurements get affected and by how much? The project will involve working with data and computers. Basic knowledge of programming would be a plus. A high level of programming knowledge is not necessary. The student will have an opportunity to learn the basics of dealing with data, cosmological simulations, and structure formation.