title: Statistical Inference in Cosmology
creator: Sellentin, Elena
subject: ddc-520
subject: 520 Astronomy and allied sciences
subject: ddc-530
subject: 530 Physics
description: Analysis of cosmic data is the only way to determine whether General Relativity is the  law of gravity also on the largest scales in our Universe. The current standard model of  cosmology,  ΛCDM, is based on General Relativity, and fits all currently available data  flawlessly. However, theoretical dissatisfaction with  ΛCDM exists: cosmological data  probe gravitational interactions, and  ΛCDM fits the data only because it introduces two  components of startling gravitional behaviour, the cosmological constant,  Λ, and cold dark  matter (CDM). The cosmological constant has a suspiciously small value when regarded  from the perspective of quantum field theories, and cold dark matter has so far not been  detected in any experiment of particle physics.  This thesis examines the cosmological standard model from the vantage point of statistics. A  non-Gaussian likelihood approximation is presented and the need of an unbiased mechanism  for dealing with estimated covariance matrices is addressed. Concerning neutrinos, a  previously existent parameterization bias in the analysis of the cosmic microwave background  is resolved. Using weak lensing and type Ia supernova data of the next generation, it is  estimated how much can be learned about dark energy from these future data sets.
date: 2016
type: Dissertation
type: info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
identifier: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserverhttps://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/20793/1/EingereichteVersion.pdf
identifier: DOI:10.11588/heidok.00020793
identifier: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-207934
identifier:   Sellentin, Elena  (2016) Statistical Inference in Cosmology.  [Dissertation]     
relation: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/20793/
rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/help/license_urhg.html
language: eng