TAPIR Seminar

Upcoming galaxy surveys will map the large-scale structure of the universe with unprecedented pace and precision, providing an exciting observational tool for cosmology in the next decade. Theoretical insights and ideas can guide observers to new ways of analyzing these surveys to improve their science return. As an example, I will discuss how non-Gaussian information beyond the galaxy power spectrum can be measured with simple methods that retain the full signal-to-noise, using maximum-likelihood/matched-filter techniques based on our understanding of structure formation, as well as density reconstruction. In this context, current methods used to analyze the CMB, large-scale structure and gravitational-wave transients can mutually enhance each other in the future. Applying this to upcoming datasets will add to our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the universe, dark energy, inflation, neutrino physics and gravity.