- Feb. 28, 2022, 2:00 pm US/Central
- Chris Pedersen, NYU
Abstract: The Lyman-alpha forest (Lyaf) is a unique probe of structure formation on small scales. This information is particularly powerful when combined with observations of the CMB in constraints of parameters that affect the relative amplitude of small and large scales. Two prominent examples are the shape of the primordial power spectrum, and the mass scale of neutrinos. Over the next few years, DESI will produce the largest Lyaf dataset yet with the potential to provide unprecedented constraints on these parameters, and it is therefore important to now determine the best approach to interpret this data. I will describe recent and ongoing work in this area concerning the construction of cosmological emulators for the Lyaf. Finally, I will present an approach to performing the analysis which will make the small-scale clustering information from the Lyaf readily accessible to the wider cosmological community.