Aspen Winter Conference: The Large-scale Distribution
of Mass & Light in the Universe
January 18-24, 2004
Recent and on-going surveys of galaxies in the local
Universe (e.g., SDSS, 2dF, 2MASS), and at high
redshift (e.g., DEEP, VIRMOS), combined with high-precision
cosmic microwave background anisotropy results (WMAP, plus
ground-based and balloon-borne experiments), are in the
process of mapping the structure of the Universe with
unprecedented statistical precision. Moreover, a variety
of new probes, including weak lensing, the Lyman-alpha
forest, and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, among others,
are now maturing, and new, more ambitious surveys, at
a variety of wavelengths, are planned.
Together, these probes are providing new insights into
the distribution of mass and light in the Universe and into
the relation between the two.
At the same time, theoretical progress in modeling
the formation of structure is coming from increasingly
high-resolution simulations incorporating gas dynamical
processes, enabling direct prediction of observable
properties of galaxies and clusters of galaxies.
The aim of this conference is to bring
together observers and theorists to synthesize the
recent evidence on this topic, explore to what extent
we have arrived at a consistent picture of
the clustering of mass and light in the Universe,
and more sharply define the outstanding issues for the field.
This page will contain information about the conference schedule
and program as it becomes available.