During three years of observations, HETDEX will collect data on at least one million galaxies that are 9 billion to 11 billion light-years away, yielding the largest map of the universe ever produced. The map will allow HETDEX astronomers to measure how fast the universe was expanding at different times in its history. Changes in the expansion rate will reveal the role of dark energy at different epochs. Various explanations for dark energy predict different changes in the expansion rate, so by providing exact measurements of the expansion, the HETDEX map will eliminate some of the competing ideas.
The IGC wordmark was created by Monica Rincon Ramirez, while she was a graduate
student at the Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos (IGC). Monica enjoys
drawing new connections between fundamental theory and observations. Her
graduate work includes specialized topics in general relativity, loop quantum
gravity, and quantum fields in cosmological backgrounds. In particular, her
thesis work focused on finding effective quantum corrections to gravitational
phenomena from spinfoams, and applications to cosmology. She received her PhD
in 2024.
The wordmark symbolizes the scope and variety of research at the IGC. The base
of the image represents quantum gravity, evoking the quantum geometrical
picture from spinfoams and loop quantum gravity. These are among the approaches
to fundamental questions studied at the Center for Fundamental Theory. The
middle of the image represents the Center for Theoretical and Observational
Cosmology by galaxies embedded in a smooth surface, characteristic of spacetime
in general relativity and the much larger physical scales studied in cosmology.
Finally, at the top, the surface curves to an extreme, representing a
supermassive black hole accompanied by an energetic jet. These elements depict
an active galactic nucleus, inspired by Centaurus A. Just to the right, a pair
of black holes approaches merger. This top portion of the wordmark represents
the Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics, which specializes in the study of
high-energy phenomena in the universe.
