Galaxy And Mass Assembly: a survey probing fundamental Cold Dark Matter model predictions
Peder Norberg (Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
The 2 degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) and the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) have transformed our view of large scale structure in
the low redshift Universe, reinforcing our standard cosmological model: a
flat, dark energy dominated collisionless Cold Dark Matter model
(\LamdbaCDM). However, neither survey is able to put stringent constraint
on a key CDM model prediction, i.e. the shape of the dark matter halo mass
function, a crucial component to all hierarchical galaxy formation models.
Therefore, we designed the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey with
primary aim to accurately determine the CDM halo mass function over a
large mass range. This deep (ten times fainter than SDSS) and wide (~250
sq.deg.) galaxy redshift survey samples the underlying large scale
structure with unprecedented detail. In particular, the key scale over
which the baryons and baryon physics become critical to our understanding
of the structures we see, ie. the 1 kpc to 1 Mpc range, is the one that
GAMA probes to an exquiste level.
Started in March 08 using AAOmega on the AAT, GAMA has acquired already
more than 95k good quality spectra of galaxies, typically ten times
fainter than those targeted by SDSS or 2dFGRS. In this talk, I will first
overview some of the main results from SDSS & 2dFGRS, emphasizing on both
their successes and limitations. This will indirectly lead me towards an
outline of the main GAMA science goals, and present some preliminary
science results from this unique dataset.
If time allows for it, I will finish with a small digression about the
upcoming Pan-STARRS project and my direct involvement in the large-scale
structure studies using the 3PI and median-deep field surveys.
