CosmoSlider: An educational tool for cosmology

TL;DR

CosmoSlider is an accessible, real-time visualization tool that uses neural-network emulation to help students and educators explore how cosmological parameters affect the CMB power spectra interactively.

Contribution

It introduces a lightweight, platform-independent tool employing neural networks for rapid CMB spectrum evaluation, enhancing cosmology education and intuition development.

Findings

Enables real-time exploration of cosmological parameters.

Accessible via iOS and web for educational use.

Supports intuitive understanding of CMB physics.

Abstract

Understanding how cosmological parameters influence the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra is a central component of modern cosmology education, but interactive exploration is often limited by computational cost or technical complexity. We present CosmoSlider, a lightweight visualization tool that enables real-time exploration of CMB power spectra as multiple cosmological parameters are varied simultaneously. The tool employs a neural-network emulator implemented using TensorFlow Lite, allowing rapid evaluation of spectra without relying on large grids of precomputed models or on-demand execution of Einstein--Boltzmann solvers. CosmoSlider is available both as an iOS application and as a web-based tool, making it accessible across platforms and suitable for use in classrooms, lectures, and self-guided study. By providing immediate visual feedback, CosmoSlider supports the development of intuition for the physical processes underlying CMB anisotropies and serves as a complementary resource to traditional theoretical instruction.