Norwegian Participation in Euclid: Implementation phase, part 2

One of the most outstanding problems in physics and astrophysics today is the existence of dark energy, which is inferred from the apparent accelerated expansion of the universe. Dark energy is believed to comprise about 70% of the energy content of the universe today, however, its nature is largely unknown. The simplest model is to assume that the dark energy is in the form of a cosmological constant. There are, however, good reasons to believe that the nature of the dark energy could be more complicated than this. Euclid is an M-class mission with a targeted launch in 2022. Its primary objective is to study dark energy; secondary objectives are covering most of cosmology and astrophysics. The main observational targets will be baryonic acoustic oscillations and weak lensing measurements. Euclid was by ESA in 2011 selected as the third M mission in the Cosmic Vision programme, and it was adopted in 2012 for launch in 2020 (now delayed until 2022). During 2018, we have, after six years' work, delivered the flight models of the two Norwegian mechanical structures of the NISP instrument, NI-SA-HP and NI-SSS. NISP is the larger of the two scientific instruments on board Euclid, and two important parts of it are built by Norwegian industry under the leadership of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics. NI-SA-HP was delivered in July 2017 and NI-SSS in December 2017. A "secure frame" for NI-SA-HP was delivered in January 2018, and the last Norwegian deliverable, a Flight Spare for NI-SA-HP was delivered in November 2018. At the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, an IT engineering group is developing Data Quality Common Tools for the Euclid Science Ground Segment (SGS). The efforts on NISP and SGS are mainly financed through ESA's PRODEX programme (at approximately 3.5 MEuro), but necessary travel for project leadership and management (including participation in the Euclid Consortium Board) is financed through this project. The scientific preparation of Euclid, financed by this project, is concentrated on specific work packages within the Euclid Cosmology Theory Science Working Group and Cosmological Simulations Science Working Group. It is mainly on studies, through simulations, on how data from Euclid can best be used to separate between and set constraints on various modified gravity theories. Our results from this work have been published in more than 40 articles in international scientific journals 2015 - 2018, and also in one Ph.D. thesis and 8 master's degree theses.

Den viktigste virkningen av prosjektet er at norske forskere har sterkt øket sine muligheter i å ha en ledende rolle i å analysere dataene fra satellitten Euclid etter oppskytningen i 2022. Samtidig har en norsk industribedrift hevet sitt kompetansenivå ved å utvikle og bygge svært avanserte mekaniske strukturer til et av hovedinstrumentene på Euclid.

One of the most outstanding problems in physics and astrophysics today is the existence of dark energy, which is inferred from the apparent accelerated expansion of the universe. Dark energy is believed to comprise about 70% of the energy content of the universe today, however, it's nature is largely unknown. The simplest model is to assume that the dark energy is in the form of a cosmological constant. There are, however, good reasons to believe that the nature of the dark energy could be more complicated than this. Euclid is an M-class mission with a targeted launch in 2020. Its primary objective is to study dark energy, secondary objectives are covering most of cosmology and astrophysics. The main observational targets will be baryonic acoustic oscillations and weak lensing measurements. Euclid was by ESA in 2011 selected as the third M mission in the Cosmic Vision programme, and it was adopted in 2012 for launch in 2020. This proposal is for the necessary funding of management and coordination of the Norwegian participation in Euclid (the direct costs of Norwegian contributions to instruments and science ground segment will be funded by the PRODEX programme of ESA), for Norwegian participation in Euclid Science Working Groups, and for completing a research project in the period 2015-2018 studying the evolution of non-linear structures in the universe in a class of interesting cosmological models with modified gravity with screening mechanisms, and with massive neutrinos (including sterile neutrinos). This research project will already give significant constraints on such models when compared with existing data, but will especially give interesting forecasts for how Euclid data best can give constraints, and is done within two Euclid Science Working Groups. Furthermore, the project will build competence in numerical simulations of growth of structure in non-standard cosmological models, something that will be essential in future Euclid research.