Names(ID): Hognbo Tian(4180900) & Stephen Cripps(4184175)

Project Title: Cosmic Lightcone

Project Supervisor: Prof. Frazer Pearce

##Project Description: We aim to construct virtual lightcones using snapshots from cosmological simulations. This will then enable the parameterisation of cosmic variance as a function of lightcone depth and opening angle for an observer in a comparable local density to that of our own. We can then make recommendation of the specifications required to reduce cosmic variance to an acceptable value for future surveys.

##Timeline:

• Week 19
• Data acquisition and simulation selection
• Week 20 & 21
• Familiarize data processing from C++ to visualization in Matlab
• Implement multiple observers
• Research the local density of the Milky Way
• Implement local density calculation in code
• Find ‘Earth-like’ potential observer positions
• Week 22 & 23
• Study and research the mathematics behind lightcone implementation
• Red-shift tiling and optimisation, issues include not not limited to density discontinuity and time boundary crossing
• Week 24
• Box wrapping and optimisation, issues include not not limited to structure replication
• Beginning of intensive work
• Week 25, day 1 & 2
• Contingency and further optimisation
• Week 25, day 3 to 5
• Creating a mathematical framework of statistical and error analysis
• Week 26
• Program runtime
• Data extraction and processing
• Week 27 to 30 (Easter vacation)
• Data analysis and applying statistical framework
• Comparison to theory, prediction and observations
• Review results and draw physical conclusions
• Week 31
• Contingency week
• Preparation for viva
• Week 32
• Draft outline for reports
• Week 33
• Prepare for presentation
• Practise presentation
• Week 34, 35
• Writing up report
• Week 36
• Review and proof-read report
• Polish and finish project
• Week 37
• Contingency (2 days)

##Important Dates: Week 11, formal project supervisor meeting & lab-book check, assessed individually Friday, 22nd Jan (week 18), background and literature review, assessed individually Friday, 22nd Jan (week 18), project plan, assessed jointly Monday, 25th Jan (week 19), project activity starts Monday, 7th Mar (week 25), full-time activity starts Week 27 - 30, Easter vacation Week 32, viva, assessed individually Week 34, presentation, assessed jointly Tuesday, 31st May (week 37), formal report, lab-book and raw data.

##Glossary: Redshift tiling: Connecting one snapshot to the next in a lightcone to replicate light travel time. Box wrapping: Periodic boundary conditions applied to the simulation box to artificially increase the volume of the simulation. Time boundary: The boundary between a change in redshift (snapshot). Spatial boundary: The edge of the simulation box. Time boundary crossing: A particle travels across a time boundary between snapshots, causing either replication or removal of the particle from the lightcone depending of the direction of travel. Structure replication: The repeated observation of a structure after applying box wrapping.