In this thesis we make progress toward establishing the observational method of 21 cm intensity mapping as a sensitive and efficient method for mapping the large-scale structure of the Universe. In Part I we undertake theoretical studies to better understand the potential of intensity mapping. This includes forecasting the ability of intensity mapping experiments to constrain alternative explanations to dark energy for the Universe's accelerated expansion. We also considered how 21 cm observations of the neutral gas in the early Universe (after recombination but before reionization) could be used to detect primordial gravity waves, thus providing a window into cosmological inflation. Finally we showed that scientifically interesting measurements could in principle be performed using intensity mapping in the near term, using existing telescopes in pilot surveys or prototypes for larger dedicated surveys. Part II describes observational efforts to perform some of the first measurements using 21 cm intensity mapping. We develop a general data analysis pipeline for analyzing intensity mapping data from single dish radio telescopes. We then apply the pipeline to observations using the Green Bank Telescope. By cross-correlating the intensity mapping survey with a traditional galaxy redshift survey we put a lower bound on the amplitude of the 21 cm signal. The auto-correlation provides an upper bound on the signal amplitude and we thus constrain the signal from both above and below. This pilot survey represents a pioneering effort in establishing 21 cm intensity mapping as a probe of the Universe.

In this thesis we make progress toward establishing the observational method of 21 cm intensity mapping as a sensitive and efficient method for mapping the large-scale structure of the Universe. In Part I we undertake theoretical studies to better understand the potential of intensity mapping. This includes forecasting the ability of intensity mapping experiments to constrain alternative explanations to dark energy for the Universe's accelerated expansion. We also considered how 21 cm observations of the neutral gas in the early Universe (after recombination but before reionization) could be used to detect primordial gravity waves, thus providing a window into cosmological inflation. Finally we showed that scientifically interesting measurements could in principle be performed using intensity mapping in the near term, using existing telescopes in pilot surveys or prototypes for larger dedicated surveys. Part II describes observational efforts to perform some of the first measurements using 21 cm intensity mapping. We develop a general data analysis pipeline for analyzing intensity mapping data from single dish radio telescopes. We then apply the pipeline to observations using the Green Bank Telescope. By cross-correlating the intensity mapping survey with a traditional galaxy redshift survey we put a lower bound on the amplitude of the 21 cm signal. The auto-correlation provides an upper bound on the signal amplitude and we thus constrain the signal from both above and below. This pilot survey represents a pioneering effort in establishing 21 cm intensity mapping as a probe of the Universe.

In this thesis I study and measure the spatial distribution of galaxies selected in optical and near-infrared surveys over cosmic time. By measuring the clustering of these sources, valuable insight can be gained into the role of environment in shaping galaxy evolution over the history of the Universe. I present a series of results from a clustering analysis of the first data release of the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Deep Extragalactic Observations (VIDEO) survey. VIDEO is the only survey currently capable of probing the bulk of stellar mass in galaxies at redshifts corresponding to the peak of star formation on degree scales. Galaxy clustering is measured with the two-point correlation function, which is calculated using a non para- metric kernel based density estimator. I use my measurements to investigate the connection between the galaxies and the host dark matter halo using a Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) methodology, deriving bias, satellite fractions, and typical host halo masses for stellar masses between 10^9.35M_⊙ and 10^10.85M_⊙, at redshifts 0.5 < z < 1.7. I show that the typical halo mass increases with stellar mass (with moderate scatter) and bias also increases with stellar mass and redshift, consistent with previous studies. I find the satellite fraction increases towards low redshifts, from ∼ 5% at z ∼ 1.5, to ∼ 20% at z ∼ 0.6, also increasing for lower mass galaxies. I combine my results to derive the stellar mass to halo mass ratio for both satellites and centrals over a range of halo masses and find the peak corresponding to the halo mass with maximum star formation efficiency to be ∼ 2 × 10¹²M_⊙, finding no evidence for evolution. It has long been known that environment has a large effect on star formation in galaxies. There are several known plausible mechanisms to remove the cool gas needed for star formation, such as strangulation, harassment and ram-pressure stripping. It is unclear which process is dominant, and over what range of stellar mass. In this thesis, I find evidence for suppression of the cross-correlation function between massive galaxies and less massive star-forming galaxies, giving a measure of how less likely a galaxy is to be star-forming in the vicinity of a more massive galaxy. I develop a formalism for modelling environmental quenching mechanisms within the HOD formalism. I find that at z ∼ 2 environment is not a significant factor in determining quenching of star-forming galaxies, and that galaxies are quenched with similar probabilities in group environments as they are globally. However, by z ∼ 0.5 galaxies are much less likely to be star forming when in a group environment than when not. This increased probability of being quenched does not appear to have significant radial dependence within the halo, supportive of the quenching being caused by the halting of fresh inflows of pristine gas, as opposed to by tidal stripping. Furthermore, by separating the massive sample into passive and star-forming, I find that this effect is further enhanced when the central galaxy is passive, a manifestation of galactic conformity. Hydrodynamical cosmological simulations, with advances in computing power over the last decade, have recently made great advances in reproducing the galaxy population and understanding the underlying physical processes behind galaxy evolution. There is extensive research in the literature comparing predicted stellar mass functions from hydrodynamical simulations to observed stellar mass functions in data. In this thesis I extend these results, comparing clustering of galaxies in mock catalogues from the hydrodynamical cosmological simulation Horizon-AGN to clustering measurements from the VIDEO observations. Clustering and HOD modelling in the Horizon-AGN mock catalogue qualitatively recreates clustering measurements from the VIDEO data, but reflects the known excess stellar mass to halo mass ratio for low mass haloes in Horizon-AGN. This reinforces the need for stronger regulation of star formation in low mass haloes in the simulation. I extend my results into the high redshift regime by studying the large-scale structure of the bright high-redshift Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) population - gaining insight into the role of environment in galaxy formation physics in the early Universe. I measure the clustering of a sample of bright (−22.7 < M_UV < −21.125) LBGs at z ∼ 6 and use a HOD model to measure their typical halo masses. I find that the clustering amplitude and corresponding HOD fits sug- gests that these sources are highly biased (b ∼ 10) objects in the densest regions of the high-redshift Universe. Coupled with the observed rapid evolution of the number density of these objects, my results suggest that the shape of high lu- minosity end of the luminosity function is related to feedback processes or the onset of dust obscuration - as opposed to a scenario where these sources are pre- dominantly rare instances of the much more numerous M_UV ∼ −19 population of galaxies caught in a particularly vigorous period of star formation. Despite investigating several variations on the model, it was not possible to simultaneously fit both the number densities and clustering measurements. I interpret this as a signal that a refinement of the model halo bias relation at high redshifts or the incorporation of quasi-linear effects may be needed for future attempts at modelling the clustering and number counts. Finally, the difference in number density between the fields (UltraVISTA has a surface density ∼ 1.8 times greater than UDS) is shown to be consistent with the cosmic variance implied by the clustering measurements. Finally I discuss future data sets that will become available in the coming years, and future approaches to modelling large-scale structure. In summary I have shown that measuring the spatial distribution of galaxies on large-scales is a vital probe of galaxy evolution and an essential tool for understanding the connection between galaxies and their dark matter haloes over cosmic time.

We present a cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing map produced from a linear combination of South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck temperature data. The 150 GHz temperature data from the 2500 deg(2) SPT-SZ survey is combined with the Planck 143 GHz data in harmonic space to obtain a temperature map that has a broader l coverage and less noise than either individual map. Using a quadratic estimator technique on this combined temperature map, we produce a map of the gravitational lensing potential projected along the line of sight. We measure the auto-spectrum of the lensing potential C-L(phi phi), and compare it to the theoretical prediction for a.CDM cosmology consistent with the Planck 2015 data set, finding a best-fit amplitude of 0.95(-0.06)(+0.06) (stat.)(-0.01)(+0.01)+ (sys.). The null hypothesis of no lensing is rejected at a significance of 24 sigma. One important use of such a lensing potential map is in cross-correlations with other dark matter tracers. We demonstrate this cross-correlation in practice by calculating the cross-spectrum, C-L(phi) G, between the SPT+ Planck lensing map and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) galaxies. We fit C-L(phi G) to a power law of the form p(L) = a(L/L-0)(-b) with a, L-0, and b fixed, and find eta(phi G) = C-L(phi G)/p(L) = 0.94(-0.04)(+0.04), which is marginally lower, but in good agreement with eta(phi G) = 1.00-(+0.02)(0.01), the best-fit amplitude for the cross-correlation of Planck-2015 CMB lensing and WISE galaxies over similar to 67% of the sky. The lensing potential map presented here will be used for cross-correlation studies with the Dark Energy Survey, whose footprint nearly completely covers the SPT 2500 deg(2) field.

Cosmology has become a precision science due to a wealth of new precise data from various astronomical observations. It is therefore important, from a methodological point of view, to develop new statistical and numerical tools to study the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation and Large Scale Structure (LSS), in order to test different models of the Universe. This is the main aim of this thesis. The standard inflationary -dominated Cold Dark Matter ( CDM) model is based on the premise that the Universe is statistically isotropic and homogeneous. This premise needs to be rigorously tested observationally. We study the angular correlation function C(θ) of the CMB sky using the WMAP 5-year data, and find that the low-multipoles can be reconstructed from the data outside the sky cut. We apply a Bayesian analysis and find that S1/2 statistic (S1/2 = R [C(θ)]2d cos θ, used by various investigators as a measure of correlations at large angular scales) cannot exclude the predictions of the CDM model. We clarify some issues concerning estimation of correlations on large angular scales and their interpretation. To test for deviation from statistical isotropy, we develop a quadratic maximum likelihood estimator which we apply to simulated Planck maps. We show that the temperature maps from Planck mission should be able to constrain the amplitude of any spherical multipole of a scaleinvariant quadrupole asymmetry at the 1% level (2σ). In addition, polarization maps are also precise enough to provide complimentary constraints. We also develop a method to search for the direction of asymmetry, if any, in Planck maps. B-mode polarisation of the CMB provides another important test of models of the early Universe. Different classes of models, such as single-field inflation, loop quantum cosmology and cosmic strings give speculative but testable predictions. We find that the current ground-based experiments such as BICEP, already provided fairly tight constraints on these models. We investigate how these constraints might be improved with future observations (e.g. Planck, Spider). In addition to the CMB related research, this thesis investigates how peculiar velocity fields can be used to constrain theoretical models of LSS. It has been argued that there are large bulk flows on scales of & 50 Mpc/h. If true, these results are in tension with the predictions of the CDM model. We investigate a possible explanation for this result: the unsubtracted intrinsic dipole on the CMB sky may source this apparent flow, leading to the illusion of the tilted Universe. Under the assumption of a superhorizon isocurvature fluctuation, the constraints on the tilted velocity require that inflation lasts at least 6 e-folds longer (at the 95% confidence interval) than that required to solve the horizon problem. Finally, we investigate Cosmic Mach Number (CMN), which quantifies the ratio between the mean velocity and the velocity dispersion of galaxies. We find that CMN is highly sensitive to the growth of structure on scales (10, 150) Mpc/h, and can therefore be used to test modified gravity models and neutrino masses. With future CMN data, it should be possible to constrain the growth factor of linear perturbation, as well as the sum of the neutrino mass to high accuracy.

We present a comparison between several observational tests of the post-reionization intergalactic medium and the numerical simulations of reionization completed under the Cosmic Reionization On Computers (CROC) project. The CROC simulations match the gap distribution reasonably well, and also provide a good match for the distribution of peak heights, but there is a notable lack of wide peaks in the simulated spectra and the flux-probability distribution functions are poorly matched in the narrow redshift interval 5.5 < z < 5.7, with the match at other redshifts being significantly better, albeit not exact. Both discrepancies are related: simulations show more opacity than the data.

No description available.

One focus of research in cosmology regards the growth of structure in the universe: how we end up with stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters, and large scale structure in a universe that appears homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. Using cosmological perturbation theory, we investigate the evolution of density and velocity perturbations corresponding to a universe that is slowly contracting (Ijjas and Steinhardt), testing with and comparing different values for the equation-of-state parameter. This allows for the comparison of the growth of large scale structure in scenarios including a matter-dominated expanding universe, a dark energy-dominated expanding universe, and now, an ekpyrotic scalar field-dominated contracting universe. Further, we consider the timescales on which deviations from ΛCDM in favor of the model considered could become relevant.

No description available.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude des propriétés et l'évolution de regroupement de galaxies pour les galaxies de la gamme de 2<z<5 de VUDS Sondage, qui est la plus grande enquête de galaxie spectroscopique à z>2. Je ai pu mesurer la distribution spatiale d'une population générale de galaxie à redshift z~3 pour la première fois avec une grande précision. Je ai quantifié le regroupement de galaxie en estimation et la modélisation de la fonction de corrélation projetée (espace réel) à deux points, pour une population générale de 3022 galaxies. Je ai prolongé les mesures de regroupement à la luminosité et des sous-échantillons de masse sélectionné stellaires. Mes résultats montrent que la force de regroupement de la population générale de la galaxie ne change pas de redshift z~3,5 à z~2,5, mais dans les deux redshift va plus lumineux et des galaxies plus massives sont plus regroupées que les moins lumineux (massives). En utilisant la distribution d'occupation de halo (HOD) formalisme je mesuré une masse moyenne de halo hôte au redshift z~3 significativement plus faible que les masses halo moyens observés à faible redshift. Je ai conclu que la population de formation d'étoiles observé des galaxies à z~3 aurait évolué dans le massif et lumineux la population de galaxies au z=0. Aussi, je interpréter les mesures de regroupement en termes de biais de galaxies à grande échelle linéaire. Je trouve que ce est nettement plus élevé que le biais des galaxies redshift intermédiaire et faible. Enfin, je ai calculé le ratio-stellaire Halo masse (SHMR) et l'efficacité intégrée de formation d'étoiles (ISFE) pour étudier l'efficacité de la formation des étoiles et l'assemblage masse stellaire. / This thesis focuses on the study of the properties and evolution of galaxy clustering for galaxies in the redshift range 2<z<5 from the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS), which is the largest spectroscopic galaxy survey at z>2. I was able to measure the spatial distribution of a general galaxy population at redshift z~3 for the first time with a high accuracy. I quantified the galaxy clustering by estimating and modelling the projected (real-space) two-point correlation function, for a general population of 3022 galaxies. I extended the clustering measurements to the luminosity and stellar mass-selected sub-samples. My results show that the clustering strength of the general galaxy population does not change significantly from redshift z~3.5 to z~2.5, but in both redshift ranges more luminous and more massive galaxies are more clustered than less luminous (massive) ones. Using the halo occupation distribution (HOD) formalism I measured an average host halo mass at redshift z~3 significantly lower than the observed average halo masses at low redshift. I concluded that the observed star-forming population of galaxies at z~3 might have evolved into the massive and bright (Mr<-21.5) galaxy population at redshift z=0. Also, I interpret clustering measurements in terms of a linear large-scale galaxy bias. I find it to be significantly higher than the bias of intermediate and low redshift galaxies. Finally, I computed the stellar-to-halo mass ratio (SHMR) and the integrated star formation efficiency (ISFE) to study the efficiency of star formation and stellar mass assembly. I find that the integrated star formation efficiency is quite high at ~16% for the average galaxies at z~3.