Cosmology with the Lya forest: beyond two-point statistics, DESI instrumentation

The Lyman-alpha forest is currently the only probe of cosmology and the state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) between redshifts of z=2 and 6. Its higher-order clustering, specifically its three-point correlation function (3PCF), contains information that can help to constrain fluctuations in the ionizing background and temperature fields of the IGM, thus providing a novel way to constrain their effects on cosmological analyses of the LyA forest. In this talk, I will present theoretical predictions of the 3PCF of the LyA forest, considering both a uniform and spatially varying UV background. I will discuss the exciting possibilities that future surveys like DESI will enable in this area. Finally, I will present my instrumentation work on the DESI sky camera and the fiber positioner anti-collision algorithm, and how they facilitate the DESI survey to achieve its science goals.

Speaker: Suk Sien Tie, OSU

Room LBL-50-5132