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As the next generation of large galaxy surveys come online, it is becoming increasingly important to develop and understand the machine-learning tools that analyze big astronomical data. Neural networks are powerful and capable of probing deep patterns in data, but they must be trained carefully on large and representative data sets. We present a new “hump” of the Cosmology and Astrophysics with MachinE Learning Simulations (CAMELS) project: CAMELS-SAM, encompassing one thousand dark-matter-only simulations of (100h⁻¹cMpc)³with different cosmological parameters (Ω_mandσ₈) and run through the Santa Cruz semi-analytic model for galaxy formation over a broad range of astrophysical parameters. As a proof of concept for the power of this vast suite of simulated galaxies in a large volume and broad parameter space, we probe the power of simple clustering summary statistics to marginalize over astrophysics and constrain cosmology using neural networks. We use the two-point correlation, count-in-cells, and void probability functions, and we probe nonlinear and linear scales across 0.68 <R<27h⁻¹cMpc. We find our neural networks can both marginalize over the uncertainties in astrophysics to constrain cosmology to 3%–8% error across various types of galaxy selections, while simultaneously learning about the SC-SAM astrophysical parameters. This work encompasses vital first steps toward creating algorithms able to marginalize over the uncertainties in our galaxy formation models and measure the underlying cosmology of our Universe. CAMELS-SAM has been publicly released alongside the rest of CAMELS, and it offers great potential to many applications of machine learning in astrophysics:https://camels-sam.readthedocs.io.

 

We presentGIGANTES, the most extensive and realistic void catalog suite ever released—containing over 1 billion cosmic voids covering a volume larger than the observable universe, more than 20 TB of data, and created by running the void finderVIDEonQUIJOTE’s halo simulations. TheGIGANTESsuite, spanning thousands of cosmological models, opens up the study of voids, answering compelling questions: Do voids carry unique cosmological information? How is this information correlated with galaxy information? Leveraging the large number of voids in theGIGANTESsuite, our Fisher constraints demonstrate voids contain additional information, critically tightening constraints on cosmological parameters. We use traditional void summary statistics (void size function, void density profile) and the void autocorrelation function, which independently yields an error of 0.13 eV on ∑m_νfor a 1h⁻³Gpc³simulation, without cosmic microwave background priors. Combining halos and voids we forecast an error of 0.09 eV from the same volume, representing a gain of 60% compared to halos alone. Extrapolating to next generation multi-Gpc³surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, Euclid, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer, and the Roman Space Telescope, we expect voids should yield an independent determination of neutrino mass. Crucially,GIGANTESis the first void catalog suite expressly built for intensive machine-learning exploration. We illustrate this by training a neural network to perform likelihood-free inference on the void size function, giving a ∼20% constraint on Ω_m. Cosmology problems provide an impetus to develop novel deep-learning techniques. WithGIGANTES, machine learning gains an impressive data set, offering unique problems that will stimulate new techniques.

 

Abstract Many different studies have shown that a wealth of cosmological information resides on small, nonlinear scales. Unfortunately, there are two challenges to overcome to utilize that information. First, we do not know the optimal estimator that will allow us to retrieve the maximum information. Second, baryonic effects impact that regime significantly and in a poorly understood manner. Ideally, we would like to use an estimator that extracts the maximum cosmological information while marginalizing over baryonic effects. In this work we show that neural networks can achieve that when considering some simple scenarios. We made use of data where the maximum amount of cosmological information is known: power spectra and 2D Gaussian density fields. We also contaminate the data with simplified baryonic effects and train neural networks to predict the value of the cosmological parameters. For this data, we show that neural networks can (1) extract the maximum available cosmological information, (2) marginalize over baryonic effects, and (3) extract cosmological information that is buried in the regime dominated by baryonic physics. We also show that neural networks learn the priors of the data they are trained on, affecting their extrapolation properties. We conclude that a promising strategy to maximize the scientific return of cosmological experiments is to train neural networks on state-of-the-art numerical simulations with different strengths and implementations of baryonic effects. 

Abstract Uncertain feedback processes in galaxies affect the distribution of matter, currently limiting the power of weak lensing surveys. If we can identify cosmological statistics that are robust against these uncertainties, or constrain these effects by other means, then we can enhance the power of current and upcoming observations from weak lensing surveys such as DES, Euclid, the Rubin Observatory, and the Roman Space Telescope. In this work, we investigate the potential of the electron density auto-power spectrum as a robust probe of cosmology and baryonic feedback. We use a suite of (magneto-)hydrodynamic simulations from the CAMELS project and perform an idealized analysis to forecast statistical uncertainties on a limited set of cosmological and physically-motivated astrophysical parameters. We find that the electron number density auto-correlation, measurable through either kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observations or through Fast Radio Burst dispersion measures, provides tight constraints on Ω m and the mean baryon fraction in intermediate-mass halos, f̅ bar . By obtaining an empirical measure for the associated systematic uncertainties, we find these constraints to be largely robust to differences in baryonic feedback models implemented in hydrodynamic simulations. We further discuss the main caveats associated with our analysis, and point out possible directions for future work.