Computing the Cosmos: Illuminating the Dark Side with Clusters of Galaxies
Gus Evrard (Michigan)
Clusters of galaxies emerge at dense peaks in the vast cosmic web of
large-scale structure that threads the universe. The non-linear
dynamics governing their formation has been extensively studied using
computational N-body and gas dynamical techniques, and many population
properties are now well understood (or, at least, well calibrated) from
this first-principles approach. The links between cosmological
parameters and cluster population statistics are now strong enough to
motivate large observational programs at optical, sub-mm and X-ray
wavelengths. In this talk, I will review progress in modeling clusters
as multi-component, gravitational systems and then address the role that
cluster studies should play in illuminating dark sector physics over the
coming decades.
