Galaxies form and live inside dark matter haloes. As a consequence, they are exposed to the tidal fields generated by the surrounding matter distribution: this imprints a preferential direction to... Show moreGalaxies form and live inside dark matter haloes. As a consequence, they are exposed to the tidal fields generated by the surrounding matter distribution: this imprints a preferential direction to the galaxy shapes, which leads to a coherent alignment on physically close galaxies, called intrinsic alignment. Intrinsic alignment is an important contaminant to weak lensing, which instead uses the correlation of galaxy shapes caused by the lensing effect of the matter distribution along the line of sight to infer the amount and the distribution of matter in the Universe.This dissertation studies the dependence of intrinsic alignment on galaxy properties such as luminosity, redshift and halo mass, using different techniques to measure it. It presents a model to account for the scale and sample dependence of the intrinsic alignment signal when modelling it in weak lensing studies. It also investigates the amount of biasing that incorrect modelling of intrinsic alignment would induce in the inferred cosmological parameters for ongoing and future surveys. The potential of weak lensing magnification is also explored to help constrain the cosmological parameters in upcoming surveys. Show less
Of all the mass in our Universe, 80% is thought to consist of a hypothetical and invisible substance called dark matter (DM). So far, all observations of DM are based on its gravitational... Show moreOf all the mass in our Universe, 80% is thought to consist of a hypothetical and invisible substance called dark matter (DM). So far, all observations of DM are based on its gravitational interaction, either through the dynamics of normal (baryonic) matter or through the deflection of light. The latter approach, called ‘gravitational lensing’, is a unique way to probe the distribution of DM without making any assumptions on its dynamical state, and on scales larger than the extent of baryons. Using weak gravitational lensing with the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), we first study the relation between galaxies and their dark matter halos on the scale of individual galaxies and galaxy groups. We then attempt to measure the effect of the local and large scale (cosmic web) density distribution on galaxies and halos, and we measure the interplay between galactic and DM structures at the scale of the cosmic web. Finally, we perform the first test of Verlinde’s theory of Emergent Gravity, all with the ultimate goal of gleaning some insight into the possible nature of the elusive ‘missing mass’. Show less
Galaxy clusters are the largest reservoirs of matter in the Universe, and as such are unique laboratories to understand the connection between dark and luminous, 'normal' matter. We use... Show more Galaxy clusters are the largest reservoirs of matter in the Universe, and as such are unique laboratories to understand the connection between dark and luminous, 'normal' matter. We use several techniques and galaxy cluster samples to study this connection from various angles. In particular, we try to understand how does the motion of galaxies within clusters relate to their luminous mass content; how do the shapes of galaxies respond to the strong gravitational potential of their host cluster (analogous to tidal waves produced by the Earth-Moon gravitational interaction), and how much of their total mass are galaxies able to retain once they fall under the influence of their host cluster, in connection with the same interactions. Our results provide important information for models of galaxy formation and evolution, particularly their dark matter content, and for studies trying to link observations of galaxy clusters to the overall properties of the Universe such as its total matter content. Show less
De meeste materie in ons Universum is donker. Deze donkere materie vormt de bouwsteen van de grootschalige, kosmische structuren, waarin sterrenstelsels leven. Door zijn botsingloze natuur is... Show moreDe meeste materie in ons Universum is donker. Deze donkere materie vormt de bouwsteen van de grootschalige, kosmische structuren, waarin sterrenstelsels leven. Door zijn botsingloze natuur is donkere materie namelijk beter in staat structuren te vormen dan normale (__baryonische__) materie. Deze structuren bestaan uit vlakken, filamenten en knopen, die samen ook wel het kosmisch web worden genoemd. Sterrenstelsels bewonen de centra van grotere "halo__s" van donkere materie. Deze halo__s zijn zelf niet zichtbaar en het licht uitgezonden door sterrenstelsels kan ons alleen iets vertellen over het binnendeel van deze halo__s. In dit proefschrift trachten we meer over halo__s te weten te komen. Hiertoe maken we gebruik van kosmologische, hydrodynamische simulaties, waarin we niet alleen de donkere maar ook de zichtbare materie meenemen, alsmede alle processen die gedacht worden belangrijk te zijn voor de vorming en groei van sterrenstelsels. Dergelijke simulaties bieden ons de mogelijkheid om het verband tussen zichtbare en donkere materie te verkennen, aangezien beide componenten tegelijk en zelfconsistent worden gesimuleerd. In waarnemingen kan dit verband onderzocht worden door gebruik te maken van zwaartekrachtlenzen. De werking van dergelijke lenzen is gebaseerd op de afbuiging van fotonen (lichtdeeltjes) wanneer deze door een zwaartekrachtspotentiaal reizen. Zodoende ondervindt licht dat van ver in het heelal naar ons toe reist, onderweg verschillende kleine afbuigingen. Als gevolg hiervan zien wij het beeld van de bron als verplaatst, vergroot en verstoord. Het zwaartekrachtlenseffect kan gebruikt worden om verschillende eigenschappen van (materie in) het Universum te meten, waaronder de totale massa en het massaprofiel van halo__s, de vormen van halo__s, de effici_ntie van de vorming van sterrenstelsels en uiteindelijk ook de fundamentele kosmologische parameters van ons Universum. Door gebruik te maken van kosmologische, hydrodynamische simulaties kunnen we ook mogelijke effecten onderzoeken die ons ervan weerhouden om zwaartekrachtlenswerking te gebruiken om de fundamentele eigenschappen van de structuren waaruit ons Universum is opgebouwd, te meten. Show less
Galaxies with all their varieties, have been home to billions of stars during their life. It is because of the presence of these shining stars that we are able to observe them through the cosmic... Show moreGalaxies with all their varieties, have been home to billions of stars during their life. It is because of the presence of these shining stars that we are able to observe them through the cosmic time. Although we observe galaxies mostly through the light emitted by their stars, we cannot resolve these stars individually unless they are very close by. Because of this, the cumulative light from billions of stars in every galaxy is analyzed using stellar population models to extract information about the evolution of galaxies. Stellar light does not reach us without passing through the interstellar medium (ISM) which contains clouds of gas and dust particles. Gas and dust can absorb and re-emit the light from stars, or scatter it towards us and make interpreting what we observe in galaxies very complicated. Despite all these difficulties, just by analyzing the total light from galaxies, we can constrain the global physical properties of galaxies such as stellar mass, star formation rate and age, based on the stellar population models. By combining stellar population models and photoionization models we can further analyze the emission line spectrum of star-forming galaxies coming from ionized gas around young stars which provide us with a wealth of information about the small-scale properties of galaxies e.g., the ISM. This thesis is an attempt in understanding the relation between these small-scale properties and global properties of star-forming galaxies over cosmic time using stellar population synthesis models and photoionization models. Show less
