Liverpool John Moores University has been awarded a 5 year ERC consolidator grant to carry out the research project BAHAMAS.
It will question, in the first instance, whether the standard model of cosmology and the prediction tensions derived from it require new physics for large-scale structure (LSS) measurements. A modified theory of gravity or time-varying dark energy has been put forward as an alternative to rectify the inherent issues but firstly they want to be certain that the systematic errors in LSS tests have been accounted for.
The team will produce a suite of simulations designed specifically for LSS cosmology applications where the feedback can be realistically accounted for and allow the unification of different LSS tests. The BAHAMAS Project will, on the back of this, critically assess evidence for physics beyond the standard model to help with the modelling of complicated astrophysical phenomena associated with galaxy formation.