Probing Gravity in the High-Redshift Universe with HETDEX
Abstract
The addition of dark matter and dark energy to general relativity is degenerate with a modification of the dependence of curvature on the stress-energy tensor in the absence of exotic sources of matter and energy; it is thus valuable to explore the latter as a potential improvement over the former. Though it is inherently difficult to distinguish existing evidence for the general relativity paradigm from that of its more promising alternatives, such theories are associated with different histories for the largely unexplored growth of structure. Zhang, et al. (2007) have enabled discrimination of these possibilities via a new observable parameter EG and have predicted the efficacy of several future astronomical surveys to determine its value. In this work, we examine the ability of the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) to contribute to calculations of this indicator of gravity at the highest redshifts (1.9 < z < 3.5). We show that a prerequisite of such a measurement is a deeper understanding of the nature of Lyman-α emitting galaxies (LAEs). If HETDEX can constrain the statistical properties of the typical LAE velocity dispersion, then it will not be necessary to wait for the (as yet unplanned) next generation of high-resolution spectrographs to obtain a test of general relativity in the high-redshift universe.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #223
- Pub Date:
- January 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014AAS...22345604M