Cosmology and Fundamental Physics with the Euclid Satellite

TL;DR

Euclid is a space mission designed to investigate the universe's accelerated expansion, dark energy, and fundamental physics by analyzing cosmic structures, with a focus on science beyond standard models.

Contribution

This review outlines the scientific goals of Euclid related to cosmology and fundamental physics, emphasizing topics beyond current standard models.

Findings

Euclid will measure galaxy shapes and redshifts over a large sky area.

The mission aims to explore dark energy, dark matter, and modified gravity.

It will provide insights into the universe's initial conditions and fundamental physics.

Abstract

Euclid is a European Space Agency medium class mission selected for launch in 2020 within the Cosmic Vision 2015 2025 program. The main goal of Euclid is to understand the origin of the accelerated expansion of the universe. Euclid will explore the expansion history of the universe and the evolution of cosmic structures by measuring shapes and redshifts of galaxies as well as the distribution of clusters of galaxies over a large fraction of the sky. Although the main driver for Euclid is the nature of dark energy, Euclid science covers a vast range of topics, from cosmology to galaxy evolution to planetary research. In this review we focus on cosmology and fundamental physics, with a strong emphasis on science beyond the current standard models. We discuss five broad topics: dark energy and modified gravity, dark matter, initial conditions, basic assumptions and questions of methodology in the data analysis. This review has been planned and carried out within Euclid's Theory Working Group and is meant to provide a guide to the scientific themes that will underlie the activity of the group during the preparation of the Euclid mission.