Mastodawn

Good to see that the tradition of #cosmologists having a broad view of the Earth-bound world is thriving. Two of #DavidWHogg 's #ArXiv_2602_10181 [1] overtly stated keywords:
* "We beat ploughshares into swords" (p11)
* "Astrophysics represents a borderless world" (p12)
What responsibility comes in paradoxically doing both? (#Manicheism fails)

#MinasKaramanis
#NatalieBHogg
#RobertoTrotta #ArXiv_2602_10165 [2]

@cosmology

[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.10181

[2] https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.10165

Why do we do astrophysics?

At time of writing, large language models (LLMs) are beginning to obtain the ability to design, execute, write up, and referee scientific projects on the data-science side of astrophysics. What implications does this have for our profession? In this white paper, I list - and argue for - a set of facts or "points of agreement" about what astrophysics is, or should be; these include considerations of novelty, people-centrism, trust, and (the lack of) clinical value. I then list and discuss every possible benefit that astrophysics can be seen as bringing to us, and to science, and to universities, and to the world; these include considerations of love, weaponry, and personal (and personnel) development. I conclude with a discussion of two possible (extreme and bad) policy recommendations related to the use of LLMs in astrophysics, dubbed "let-them-cook" and "ban-and-punish." I argue strongly against both of these; it is not going to be easy to develop or adopt good moderate policies.

arXiv.org

Boud Jul 29, 2025

Seems like we have some more cosmologists on Fedi - hi @AstroMikeHudson + @telescoper - and hi @jaffe who was here on Fedi before me :).

For grouping cosmo threads - mention
@cosmology

#Cosmology #Cosmologists

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬Mar 5, 2025

#Cosmologists Try a New Way to Measure the Shape of the #Universe
Is the universe flat and infinite, or something more complex? 15 scientists from seven countries known as Compact collaboration has devised a new way of finding #topological clues.
Looking at the cosmic microwave background (CMB), photons from early universe The CMB tells us how the universe looked just 380,000 years after the #BigBang, when light was first able to travel through the cosmos unimpeded.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/cosmologists-try-a-new-way-to-measure-the-shape-of-the-universe-20250127/

Cosmologists Try a New Way to Measure the Shape of the Universe

Is the universe flat and infinite, or something more complex? We can’t say for sure, but a new search strategy is mapping out the subtle signals that would reveal if the universe had a shape.

Quanta Magazine

SubtleBlade ⚔️Apr 14, 2024

World’s top #cosmologists convene to question conventional view of the #universe

Meeting at London’s #RoyalSociety will scrutinise basic model first formulated in 1922 that universe is a vast, even expanse with no notable features
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/14/worlds-top-cosmologists-convene-to-question-conventional-view-of-the-universe
#Cosmology

World’s top cosmologists convene to question conventional view of the universe

Meeting at London’s Royal Society will scrutinise basic model first formulated in 1922 that universe is a vast, even expanse with no notable features

The Guardian

Corrado Mar 5, 2024

By mapping the largest structures in the #universe, #cosmologists have found that a cosmic anomaly appears to be fading away.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/fresh-x-rays-reveal-a-universe-as-clumpy-as-cosmology-predicts-20240304/?utm_source=Quanta+Magazine&utm_campaign=0a8867ccca-RSS_Daily_Physics&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f0cb61321c-0a8867ccca-389940605&mc_cid=0a8867ccca&mc_eid=ecf74dd79a

Fresh X-Rays Reveal a Universe as Clumpy as Cosmology Predicts | Quanta Magazine

By mapping the largest structures in the universe in X-rays, cosmologists have found striking agreement with their standard theoretical model of how the universe evolves.

Quanta Magazine

Daniel Pomarède Jan 20, 2024

First citations for Ho'oleilana!

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...954..169T/citations

#hooleilana #laniakea #cosmology #cosmologists #bao #baryon #acoustic #oscillations #astronomy #astrophysics #astrodon #universe #space #science #research #discovery #cosmography #superclusters #physics #theory #publication #metrics #publishorperish

Ho'oleilana: An Individual Baryon Acoustic Oscillation?

Theory of the physics of the early hot universe leads to a prediction of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) that has received confirmation from the pairwise separations of galaxies in samples of hundreds of thousands of objects. Evidence is presented here for the discovery of a remarkably strong individual contribution to the BAO signal at z = 0.068, an entity that is given the name Ho'oleilana. The radius of the 3D structure is $155\,{{\rm{h}}}_{75}^{-1}$ Mpc. At its core is the Boötes supercluster. The Sloan Great Wall, Center for Astrophysics Great Wall, and Hercules complex all lie within the BAO shell. The interpretation of Ho'oleilana as a BAO structure with our preferred analysis implies a value of the Hubble constant of ${76.9}_{-4.8}^{+8.2}\,\mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{-1}.$

NASA/ADS

Corrado Jan 20, 2024

As measurements of distant #stars and #galaxies become more precise, #cosmologists are struggling to make sense of sparring values.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/clashing-cosmic-numbers-challenge-our-best-theory-of-the-universe-20240119/?utm_source=Quanta+Magazine&utm_campaign=8dbc4083af-RSS_Daily_Physics&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f0cb61321c-8dbc4083af-389940605&mc_cid=8dbc4083af&mc_eid=ecf74dd79a

Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe | Quanta Magazine

As measurements of distant stars and galaxies become more precise, cosmologists are struggling to make sense of sparring values.

Quanta Magazine

Corrado Dec 4, 2023

This so-called "#Hubbletension" poses a puzzle for #cosmologists. #Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and St. Andrews are now proposing a new solution: Using an alternative #theory of #gravity, the discrepancy in the measured values can be easily explained—the Hubble tension disappears.

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-explanation-hubble-tension.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-nwletter

A new possible explanation for the Hubble tension

The universe is expanding. How fast it does so is described by the so-called Hubble-Lemaitre constant. But there is a dispute about how big this constant actually is: Different measurement methods provide contradictory values.

Phys.org

ᴄᴏʀʀᴀᴅᴏ Jun 8, 2023

#NewcastleUniversity #researchers used insights gained from the study of ultracold atomic #BoseEinsteincondensates to analyze the behavior of #fuzzydarkmatter, a new model for cosmological dark matter that has recently drawn the attention of #cosmologists.

https://phys.org/news/2023-06-cosmological-dark.html

Research sheds light on new model of cosmological dark matter

Newcastle University researchers used insights gained from the study of ultracold atomic Bose Einstein condensates to analyze the behavior of fuzzy dark matter, a new model for cosmological dark matter that has recently drawn the attention of cosmologists.

Phys.org

ᴄᴏʀʀᴀᴅᴏ Apr 23, 2023

Our #standardmodel of #cosmology is both a triumph and a jumbled mess -
#Cosmologists are largely still in the dark about the #forces that drive the #Universe.

https://bigthink.com/13-8/standard-model-cosmology-jumbled-mess/

Our standard model of cosmology is both a triumph and a jumbled mess

The standard model of cosmology is very successful, but cosmologists are largely still in the dark about the forces that drive the Universe.

Big Think