Peculiar velocities are possibly the most powerful probes of very large-scale mass density fluctuations in the nearby Universe. When coupled with a density field they also can constrain the growth factor of the universe by measuring the proportionality constant between observed velocities and linear theory predicted velocities. In this thesis, I measure a bulk flow of SN within 20,000 km s^1 of 197 +/- 56 km s^1 in direction l = 295 deg +/- 16deg, b = 11deg +/- 14deg , which is consistent with predictions of ΛCDM for large scale mass density fluctuations. Using the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift survey (PSCz) galaxy density field and the SNe peculiar velocities I calculated Ω^55_m σ8 to be 0.40 +/- 0.07 which is in excellent agreement with the results of WMAP7: Ω^55_m σ8 = 0.39 +/-0.04. By combining my measured value of with results from other studies, I measure the growth factor γ to be = 0.621 +/- 0.08 which is consistent with Λ CDM's prediction of 0.55. I conclude by exploring some of the systematic errors that could have affected my measurements of β. I find that when β is measured using a reconstruction method the result can be underestimated by between 7 and 15 %.

Peculiar velocities are possibly the most powerful probes of very large-scale mass density fluctuations in the nearby Universe. When coupled with a density field they also can constrain the growth factor of the universe by measuring the proportionality constant between observed velocities and linear theory predicted velocities. In this thesis, I measure a bulk flow of SN within 20,000 km s^1 of 197 +/- 56 km s^1 in direction l = 295 deg +/- 16deg, b = 11deg +/- 14deg , which is consistent with predictions of ΛCDM for large scale mass density fluctuations. Using the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift survey (PSCz) galaxy density field and the SNe peculiar velocities I calculated Ω^55_m σ8 to be 0.40 +/- 0.07 which is in excellent agreement with the results of WMAP7: Ω^55_m σ8 = 0.39 +/-0.04. By combining my measured value of with results from other studies, I measure the growth factor γ to be = 0.621 +/- 0.08 which is consistent with Λ CDM's prediction of 0.55. I conclude by exploring some of the systematic errors that could have affected my measurements of β. I find that when β is measured using a reconstruction method the result can be underestimated by between 7 and 15 %.

Cette thèse présente ma contribution à la mesure de l’échelle d’homogénéité à l’aide de galaxies, avec l’interprétation cosmologique des résultats. En physique, tout modèle est constitué par un ensemble de principes. La plupart des modèles de cosmologie sont basés sur le principe cosmologique, qui indique que l’univers est statistiquement homogène et isotrope à grande échelle. Aujourd’hui, ce principe est considéré comme vrai car il est respecté par ces modèles cosmologiques qui décrivent avec précision les observations. Cependant, l’isotropie de l’univers est maintenant confirmée par de nombreuses expériences, mais ce n’est pas le cas pour l’homogénéité. Pour étudier l’homogénéité cosmique, nous proposons un postulat d’homogénéité cosmique. Depuis 1998, les mesures des distances cosmiques à l’aide de supernovae de type Ia, nous savons que l’univers est maintenant en phase d’expansion accélérée. Ce phénomène s’explique par l’ajout d’une composante énergétique inconnue, appelée énergie sombre. Puisque l’énergie noire est responsable de l’expansion de l’univers, nous pouvons étudier ce fluide mystérieux en mesurant le taux d’expansion de l’univers. L’échelle d’oscillation acoustique Baryon (BAO). En mesurant cette échelle à différents moments de la vie de notre univers, il est alors possible de mesurer le taux d'expansion de l’univers et donc de caractériser cette énergie sombre. Alternativement, nous pouvons utiliser l’échelle d’homogénéité pour étudier cette énergie sombre. L’étude l’échelle de l’homogénéité et l’échelle BAO réclament l’étude statistique du regroupement de la matière de l’univers à grandes échelles, supérieure à plusieurs dizaines de Megaparsecs. Les galaxies et les quasars sont formés dans les vastes surdensités de la matière et ils sont très lumineuses: ces sources tracent la distribution de la matière. En mesurant les spectres d’émission de ces sources en utilisant de larges études spectroscopiques, telles que BOSS et eBOSS, nous pouvons mesurer leurs positions. Il est possible de reconstruire la distribution de la matière en trois dimensions en volumes gigantesques. Nous pouvons ensuite extraire divers observables statistiques pour mesurer l’échelle BAO et l’échelle d’homogénéité de l’univers. En utilisant les catalogues de diffusion de données 12 de la version 12 de données, nous avons obtenu une précision sur l’échelle d’homogénéité réduite de 5 par rapport la mesure de WiggleZ. À grande échelle, l’univers est remarquablement bien décrit en ordre linéaire selon le modèle LCDM, le modèle standard de la cosmologie. En général, il n’est pas nécessaire de prendre en compte les effets non linéaires qui compliquent le modèle à petites échelles. D’autre part, à grande échelle, la mesure de nos observables devient très sensible aux effets systématiques. Ceci est particulièrement vrai pour l’analyse de l’homogénéité cosmique, qui nécessite une méthode d’observation. Afin d’étudier le principe d’homogénéité d’une manière indépendante du modèle, nous explorons une nouvelle façon d’inférer des distances en utilisant des horloges cosmiques et SuperNovae de type Ia. C'est la théorie la plus couramment utilisée dans le domaine des hypothèses astrophysiques / This thesis exposes my contribution to the measurement of homogeneity scale using galaxies, with the cosmological interpretation of results. In physics, any model is characterized by a set of principles. Most models in cosmology are based on the Cosmological Principle, which states that the universe is statistically homogeneous and isotropic on a large scales. Today, this principle is considered to be true since it is respected by those cosmological models that accurately describe the observations. However, while the isotropy of the universe is now confirmed by many experiments, it is not the case for the homogeneity. To study cosmic homogeneity, we propose to not only test a model but to test directly one of the postulates of modern cosmology. Since 1998 the measurements of cosmic distances using type Ia supernovae, we know that the universe is now in a phase of accelerated expansion. This phenomenon can be explained by the addition of an unknown energy component,which is called dark energy. Since dark energy is responsible for the expansion of the universe, we can study this mysterious fluid by measuring the rate of expansion of the universe. Nature does things well: the universe has imprinted in its matter distribution a standard ruler, the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale. By measuring this scale at different times in the life of our universe, it is then possible to measure the rate of expansion of the universe and thus characterize this dark energy. Alternatively, we can use the homogeneity scale to study this dark energy. Studying the homogeneity and the BAO scale requires the statistical study of the matter distribution of the universe at large scales, superior to tens of Megaparsecs. Galaxies and quasars are formed in the vast overdensities of matter and they are very luminous: these sources trace the distribution of matter. By measuring the emission spectra of these sources using large spectroscopic surveys, such as BOSS and eBOSS, we can measure their positions. It is thus possible to reconstruct the distribution of matter in 3 dimensions in gigantic volumes. We can then extract various statistical observables to measure the BAO scale and the scale of homogeneity of the universe. Using Data Release 12 CMASS galaxy catalogs, we obtained precision on the homogeneity scale reduced by 5 times compared to WiggleZ measurement. At large scales, the universe is remarkably well described in linear order by the ΛCDM-model, the standard model of cosmology. In general, it is not necessary to take into account the nonlinear effects which complicate the model at small scales. On the other hand, at large scales, the measurement of our observables becomes very sensitive to the systematic effects. This is particularly true for the analysis of cosmic homogeneity, which requires an observational method so as not to bias the measurement In order to study the homogeneity principle in a model independent way, we explore a new way to infer distances using cosmic clocks and type Ia SuperNovae. This establishes the Cosmological Principle using only a small number of a priori assumption, i.e. the theory of General Relativity and astrophysical assumptions that are independent from Friedmann Universes and in extend the homogeneity assumption

Orientador: Saulo Henrique Pereira / Resumo: Neste trabalho é construída a evolução completa do Universo impulsionada pelo espinor escuro com dimensão de massa um, chamado MDO. O modelo começa pela inflação cósmica, passando pela era dominada pela matéria escura, terminando com a recente expansão acelerada. Além disso, é feita uma primeira aproximação à teoria de perturbação escalar. Foi mostrado que a dinâmica do campo fermiônico MDO, respeitando um potencial com quebra de simetria, pode reproduzir todas as fases do Universo de uma maneira natural e elegante. As equações dinâmicas em geral e as condições de Slow-Roll, no limite H mp, também são apresentadas para o referido sistema. A análise numérica para o número de e-folds durante a inflação, densidade de energia após este período, o tempo presente e o tamanho real do Universo estão de acordo com o modelo padrão de cosmologia. Uma interpretação da fase inflacionária como resultado do princípio de exclusão de Pauli também é possível se o campo de MDO for tratado como um valor médio de seu análogo quântico / Doutor

We have released maps and data for five years of observation of the cosmic microwave background with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and I will review the main results in this talk. A simple 6 parameter cosmological model continues to be an excellent fit to the CMB data and to our data in conjunction with other astrophysical measurements. In particular a running spectral index is not supported by the data, and constraints that the Universe is spatially flat have increased in precision. Increased sensitivity and improvements in our understanding of the instrumental beam shape have allowed us to measure for the first time a cosmic neutrino background. Neutrinos de-coupled from other matter earlier than photons did. While they are expected to have a 2 Kelvin thermal distribution today, they comprised 10% of the energy density of the Universe at the epoch of photon de-coupling. The data also allow tighter constraints on the shape of the inflationary potential via the amplitude of a gravitational wave background new constraints on features of cosmic axions. Recorded at TRIUMF on Thursday April 17, 2008.