Research Division Seminar
Application of simulation-based inference to problems in astrophysics

Abstract

The next decade will see a deluge of new cosmological data that will enable us to accurately map out the distribution of matter in the local Universe, image billions of stars and galaxies to unprecedented precision, and create high-resolution maps of the Milky Way. Signatures of new physics as well as astrophysical processes of interest may be hiding in these observations, offering significant discovery potential. At the same time, the complexity of astrophysical data provides significant challenges to carrying out these searches using conventional methods. I will describe how overcoming these issues will require a qualitative shift in how we approach modeling and inference in cosmology, bringing together several recent advances in machine learning and simulation-based (or likelihood-free) inference. I will ground the talk through examples of proposed analyses that use machine learning-enabled simulation-based inference with an aim to uncover the identity of dark matter, while at the same time emphasizing the generality of these techniques to a broad range of problems in astrophysics, cosmology, and beyond.

https://rediris.zoom.us/j/83193959785?pwd=TExXSDJ6UDg5a24yWDM1TnlOWkNTZz09

Meeting ID: 831 9395 9785
Passcode: 343950O

YouTube: https://youtu.be/1Nkzn-cGaIo