LENSMAGPAU · Studying Gravitational Lensing Magnification with PAU and other Surveys

I plan to study the large-scale magnification of galaxies and quasars due to gravitational lensing, advancing the technique of magnification measurement for the purpose of investigating dark matter and dark energy. In particular, I will work on detecting the lensing mass autocorrelation function by studying galaxy-galaxy correlations in three dimensions, and I will also work to develop quasar magnification analyses using variability as a new and useful technique in studying large scale structure. These projects combine aspects of gravitational lensing, large scale structure, and quasar physics research. In order to facilitate these and other analyses, I plan to take a leading role in the calibration of the Physics of the Accelerating Universe (PAU) survey, a Spanish collaboration set to start taking data in 2012. The survey is designed for the optimal ground-based measurement of three-dimensional galaxy correlations, which will allow for the first measurement of the lensing mass-mass correlation function as well as precise measurements of the galaxy-mass and galaxy-galaxy correlation functions. These results will place valuable constraints on cosmological parameters describing the behavior of dark matter and dark energy.