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Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto
Fundamental cosmology in the E-ELT era

Carlos J. A. P. Martins
CAUP

Abstract
The observational evidence for the acceleration of the universe demonstrates that canonical theories of cosmology and particle physics are incomplete, if not incorrect. The LHC evidence for the Higgs particle strongly suggests that fundamental scalar fields are among nature’s building blocks. An obvious follow-up question is whether such fields also play a role in cosmology. After a brief description of the E-ELT project, I'll highlight its role in this search, presenting detail forecasts in three fronts: characterizing dark energy (through redshift drift and type Ia supernovas), tests of the universality of physical laws (measurements of fundamental couplings and Equivalence Principle tests) and tests of General Relativity and unification scenarios in as yet unexplored regimes.

17 July 2013, 13:30

Centro de Astrofísica
Rua das Estrelas
4150-762 Porto

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA) is a new but long anticipated research infrastructure with a national dimension. It embodies a bold but feasible vision for the development of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal, taking full advantage and fully realizing the potential created by the national membership of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). IA resulted from the merging the two most prominent research units in the field in Portugal: the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP) and the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Lisbon (CAAUL). It currently hosts more than two-thirds of all active researchers working in Space Sciences in Portugal, and is responsible for an even greater fraction of the national productivity in international ISI journals in the area of Space Sciences. This is the scientific area with the highest relative impact factor (1.65 times above the international average) and the field with the highest average number of citations per article for Portugal.

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