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arXiv · 1206.1225

Cosmology and fundamental physics with the Euclid satellite

Abstract

Euclid is a European Space Agency medium class mission selected for launch in 2019 within the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme. The main goal of Euclid is to understand the origin of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Euclid will explore the expansion history of the Universe and the evolution of cosmic structures by measuring shapes and redshifts of galaxies as well as the distribution of clusters of galaxies over a large fraction of the sky. Although the main driver for Euclid is the nature of dark energy, Euclid science covers a vast range of topics, from cosmology to galaxy evolution to planetary research. In this review we focus on cosmology and fundamental physics, with a strong emphasis on science beyond the current standard models. We discuss five broad topics: dark energy and modified gravity, dark matter, initial conditions, basic assumptions and questions of methodology in the data analysis. This review has been planned and carried out within Euclid's Theory Working Group and is meant to provide a guide to the scientific themes that will underlie the activity of the group during the preparation of the Euclid mission.

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Luca Amendola, Stephen Appleby, David Bacon, Tessa Baker, Marco Baldi, Nicola Bartolo, Alain Blanchard, Camille Bonvin, Stefano Borgani, Enzo Branchini, Clare Burrage, Stefano Camera, Carmelita Carbone, Luciano Casarini, Mark Cropper, Claudia deRham, Cinzia di Porto, Anne Ealet, Pedro G. Ferreira, Fabio Finelli, Juan Garcia-Bellido, Tommaso Giannantonio, Luigi Guzzo, Alan Heavens, Lavinia Heisenberg, Catherine Heymans, Henk Hoekstra, Lukas Hollenstein, Rory Holmes, Ole Horst, Knud Jahnke, Thomas D. Kitching, Tomi Koivisto, Martin Kunz, Giuseppe La Vacca, Marisa March, Elisabetta Majerotto, Katarina Markovic, David Marsh, Federico Marulli, Richard Massey, Yannick Mellier, David F. Mota, Nelson Nunes, Will Percival, Valeria Pettorino, Cristiano Porciani, Claudia Quercellini, Justin Read, Massimiliano Rinaldi, Domenico Sapone, Roberto Scaramella, Constantinos Skordis, Fergus Simpson, Andy Taylor, Shaun Thomas, Roberto Trotta, Licia Verde, Filippo Vernizzi, Adrian Vollmer, Yun Wang, Jochen Weller, Tom Zlosnik. 2015-10-22. Cosmology and fundamental physics with the Euclid satellite. https://doi.org/10.12942/lrr-2013-6

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