Nonlinear Cosmology Programme 2003 / Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
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Nonlinear Cosmology Programme 2003 (NCP2003)

Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France, May 15 to September 15, 2003.

This is a very informal theoretical cosmology programme to be attended by cosmologists and specialists in nonlinear dynamics (physicists and mathematicians). Generally the programme is devoted to questions in cosmology for which the use of recent advances in nonlinear dynamics is expected to play a crucial role. Among the possible topics the following two may be stressed:

  • Improve the Monge-Ampère-Kantorovich (MAK) reconstruction technique, recently introduced by Frisch, Matarrese, Mohayaee and Sobolevsky [Nature 417, 260-262 (16 May 2002)], to handle full gravitational effects on smaller scales (basically switch from using the adhesion model to using the full Euler-Poisson equation). We have recently shown that Euler-Poisson in an expanding universe gives a unique reconstruction when initial and final densities are prescribed (and nothing is prescribed about the velocities) and have started thinking about algorithmic implementation (see Brenier, Frisch, Hénon, Loeper, Matarrese, Mohayaee and Sobolevskii (astro-ph/0304214)). The practical problem is to find suitable algorithms able to handle the very large data sets expected within a few years (SDSS, 2DF, etc).
  • Analyse, as deeply as possible, the mechanisms which prevent multistreaming from becoming too important. Multistreaming is the mechanism which prevents uniqueness of the reconstruction. Of course, this problem is closely connected with the understanding of why the adhesion (Burgers) model is somewhat better than one would naively expect. For example, during the programme we could look for small-scale instabilities leading to a kind of eddy viscosity which in turn can suppress large-scale multi-streaming (a suggestion of E. Spiegel). For such investigations we shall probably use bifurcation theory (near the time of first particle crossing), multi-scale techniques, N-body simulations and wavelet decompositions.

This programme is made possible by support from the French Ministry of Education, "CNRS Programme National de Cosmologie," the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur and its Departments Cassini and Cerga.

List of participants

The emails are given with a French-flavoured anti-spam precaution: AROBASQUE stands for the "at" sign, and POINT means just "dot".

Local telephone numbers in the observatory are indicated only for those participants that are actually present.

Name Period E-mail Office tel.
Itai ARAD June 20-30 arad AROBASQUE ast POINT cam POINT ac POINT uk
Erik AURELL August 18-31 eaurell AROBASQUE sics POINT se 3132
Jérémie BEC May 26-30 bec AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr
Francis BERNARDEAU July 1-6 fbernard AROBASQUE spht POINT saclay POINT cea POINT fr
Luca BIFERALE June 28 to July 27 biferale AROBASQUE roma2 POINT infn POINT it
Albert BIJAOUI OCA bijaoui AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3027
Enzo BRANCHINI June 30 to July 5 branchin AROBASQUE fis POINT uniroma3 POINT it
Yann BRENIER Math. Dep. University Nice brenier AROBASQUE math1 POINT unice POINT fr
Thomas BUCHERT August 10 to September 15 buchert AROBASQUE theorie POINT physik POINT uni-muenchen POINT de 3119
Jacques COLIN OCA colin AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3001
Stéphane COLOMBI June 30 to July 6 and August 26-28 colombi AROBASQUE iap POINT fr
Alvaro DOMINGUEZ August 24-31 alvaro AROBASQUE fluids POINT mpi-stuttgart POINT mpg POINT de
Hélène FRISCH OCA frisch AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3038
Uriel FRISCH OCA uriel AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3035
James N. FRY July 2-7 fry AROBASQUE phys POINT ufl POINT edu
José GAITE August 24-31 jgaite AROBASQUE imaff POINT cfmac POINT csic POINT es
Sergei GURBATOV July 3 to September 30 gurb AROBASQUE rf POINT unn POINT ru 3135
Brosl HASSLACHER June 6 to September 3 bhass AROBASQUE hubwest POINT com
Michel HÉNON OCA henon AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3023
Roman JUSZKIEWICZ August 7 to September 7 roman AROBASQUE camk POINT edu POINT pl 3119
Gregoire LOEPER Math. Dep. University Nice loeper AROBASQUE math1 POINT unice POINT fr
Sabino MATARRESE June 30 to July 5 matarrese AROBASQUE pd POINT infn POINT it
Sophie MAUROGORDATO OCA maurogor AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3150
Roya MOHAYAEE OCA roya AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3131
Lauro MOSCARDINI June 30 to July 5 moscardini AROBASQUE bo POINT astro POINT it
Alain NOULLEZ OCA anz AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3074
José PACHECO OCA pacheco AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3182
Rahul PANDIT May 9 to June 9 rahul AROBASQUE physics POINT iisc POINT ernet POINT in
Sébastien PEIRANI OCA peirani AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3012
Joe SILK part time from mid-June to end of August silk AROBASQUE astro POINT ox POINT ac POINT uk
Sergei SHANDARIN May 17 to August 16 sergei AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr
Andrei SOBOLEVSKI OCA ansobol AROBASQUE obs-nice POINT fr 3132
Alexei STAROBINSKY August 22-30 alstar AROBASQUE cpd POINT landau POINT ac POINT ru
Roland TRIAY August 18-31 Roland POINT Triay AROBASQUE cpt POINT univ-mrs POINT fr 3172
Brent TULLY May 13-26 and July 1-5 tully AROBASQUE ifa POINT hawaii POINT edu
Patrick VALAGEAS August 25-29 valag AROBASQUE spht POINT saclay POINT cea POINT fr
Barbara VILLONE June 30 to July 5 and August  26-28 VILLONE AROBASQUE to POINT infn POINT it

(J. Silk and B. Tully are also guests of José Pacheco)

Titles of possible talks:

  • I. Arad: "Dark matter halos, phase-space density measurements"
  • E. Aurell: "A paper of N. Antonov (astro-ph/0308369)"
  • F. Bernardeau: "Can dark matter caustics exist in galaxy or cluster halos?" (proposed theme of discussion)
  • L. Biferale: "Turbulence with small-scale forcing"
  • E. Branchini: "Dark matter substructures and annihilation signatures in the local group"
  • T. Buchert: "Stabilization of large-scale structure by adhesive gravitational clustering"
  • S. Colombi: "Techniques for solving the Vlasov-Poisson equations: the polygon algorithm"
  • A. Dominguez: "Adhesion-like models of the gravitational instability derived via coarse-graining"
  • U. Frisch: "Reconstruction"
  • J. Gaite: "Formation of cosmological structures: turbulence and fractals"
  • S. Gurbatov: "The inner structure of a Zel'dovich pancake"
  • B. Hasslacher: "New physics at 3×10-32 Mpc ?"
  • R. Juszkiewicz: "Statistics and dynamics of the cosmological density and velocity fields"
  • G. Loeper: "The inverse problem for the Euler-Poisson system in cosmology"
  • S. Matarrese: "Non-gaussian signals from the early Universe"
  • R. Mohayaee: "A Monge-Ampère-Kantorovich reconstruction of primordial Universe"
  • L. Moscardini: "New models for the radial distributions of dark matter and gas in high-resolution hydro-simulations"
  • J. de Freitas Pacheco: "The origin of the angular momentum of galaxies"
  • S. Shandarin: "Dynamics and morphology of the large-scale structure"
  • J. Silk: "Current issues in galaxy formation theory"
  • A. Starobinsky: "Caustics formation in tachyon matter cosmology"
  • R. Triay: "A not so 'linear regime' of structures formation"
  • B. Tully: "Relating Theory to Observations"
  • P. Valageas: "Dynamics of gravitational clustering: a steepest-descent method"

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Workshops

The typical day schedule

9.30-10.00: Coffee
10.00-13.00: Talks and lectures
13.00-14.00: Lunch
14.00-16.00: Discussion session
16.00-16.30: Tea

Workshop 1 (June 30 to July 5)

Programme

For the titles of talks see above.

Monday, June 30 (only afternoon)
Talks: Silk, Arad

Tuesday, July 1
Talks and lectures: Shandarin
Discussion: Shapes of large-scale structures and shapefinders

Wednesday, July 2
Talks and lectures: Bernardeau, Colombi, Moscardini, Hasslacher
Discussion: Multistreaming, caustics, dark halos

Thursday, July 3
Talks and lectures: Frisch, Tully, Branchini
Discussion: Reconstruction from real and mock catalogues

Friday, July 4
Talks and lectures: Matarrese, Loeper, Gurbatov
Discussion: Full self-gravitating dynamics and reconstruction

Workshop 2 (August 26-28)

Programme

For the titles of talks see above.

Tuesday, August 26
Talks: Starobinsky, Gurbatov, Buchert, Aurell
Discussion: Caustics and multistreaming in structure formation

Wednesday, August 27
Talks: Dominguez, Valageas, Colombi, Gaite
Discussion: Dynamics of gravitational clustering

Thursday, August 28
Talks: Juszkiewicz, Triay, Mohayaee, Pacheco
Discussion: Reconstruction; coupling density and velocity

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Venue

The programme will be taking place at the Nice site of the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, mostly in the meeting room next to the library (Pavillon Henri Chrétien). General information on the Observatoire is available here and here (in French).

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Survival hints

Accommodation

Most long-term participants will be accommodated at:

Résidence de tourisme "Lou Pantai"
19 boulevard Auguste Raynaud
06100 Nice France

A map is available here. The simplest way to reach the Résidence, coming from the airport, is to drive along the sea (Promenade des Anglais) until you reach boulevard Gambetta where you make a left; after about 2 km turn right on boulevard Joseph Garnier; after 200 m to 300 m turn left on boulevard Auguste Raynaud. The Résidence is at number 19 on the left. There is a parking, accessible only after having asked at the check-in (accueil).

If you are coming by car using the motorway A8, exit at "Nice Nord" and drive south on boulevard Gorbella which goes over into the boulevard Auguste Raynaud. The Résidence is then on the right (the distance from the motorway is about 1.5 km).

The telephone is +33-4 93 82 47 32 (from France 04 93 82 47 32, see also calling hints below). If you are able to speak to the Director (Mrs. McUmber), she knows fluent English. This may be useful if a significant unexpected delay happens (e.g. missing a plane connection). [If needed you can also reach her on her mobile at 06 88 42 65 32.]

The normal hours of the Résidence are 9 to 18 Monday-Friday. Arrival on Saturday or outside of the normal hours requires special arrangement with Mrs. McUmber. Please, avoid arriving on Sunday.

At arrival you will be told the telephone number at which your apartement can be called directly (from abroad replace 04 93 ## ## ## by +33-4 93 ## ## ##). You will be able to make direct outgoing calls by dialing 0, followed by the regular number (they will be billed to your account; it may be significantly cheaper to use a prepaid telephone card).

Please note that apartments situated on lower floors of Lou Pantai may be easily reachable by somewhat acrobatically minded thieves; there has been one incident involving a participant of our programme, although such things do not happen often. Do not leave windows or balcony doors open if you are outside the room, do not leave valuables at too conspicuous places (especially visible through windows from outside).

Many short-term participants will be accommodated at one of two hotels, the Best Western Hotel Nautica or Hôtel Helvétique:

Best Western Hotel Nautica
38 rue Barberis
06300 Nice France

A map is available here. The hotel is situated about 250 m from Gare Riquier. The telephone is +33 4 92 00 21 21 (04 92 00 21 21 from France). The negotiated special rate per night (including tax and breakfast) is 64.76 Euro and free parking is provided.

Hôtel Helvétique
47 rue de l'Hôtel des Postes
06000 Nice France

A map is available here. The hotel is situated in about 2 km from Gare Riquier, there is a bus connection as explained below. The telephone is +33 4 93 62 15 55 (04 93 62 15 55 from France). The negotiated special rate per night (including tax and breakfast) is about 61 Euro.

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Getting to the Observatoire

From Lou Pantai: Turn right on boulevard Auguste Raynaud when leaving the Résidence and turn left on boulevard Joseph Garnier until you reach Place General de Gaulle; turn left on avenue Malaussena and you will immediately see the bus stop (total walking time about 5 min). Take bus number 1 or 2 (direction: Port/Riquier). You can also take bus 5 which stops right in front of the Résidence but is less frequent. If you take bus 1 or 2 you will get off at the end station and you will be on boulevard Riquier; cross it; continue about 100 m; turn left at Place Auguste Blanqui; you will then be just in front of the Riquier Railway station; there take the minibus 74 to "Observatoire." IMPORTANT: if you have already read this page, note the following change due to displacement of the bus 5 stop: If you arrive by bus 5, get off at the first stop after passing under the railway bridge (it is called "Bischoffsheim" and is not the end stop, so be careful) and wait until bus 74 comes (you can even have a cup of coffee at the bar "Le Phil à Pat" next to the stop). See the schedule of bus 74 below; note that the stop "Bischoffsheim" is its first stop after departure from the Riquier station.

Travel time from the Résidence Lou Pantai to Riquier: 30-45 min depending on traffic, from Riquier to Observatoire: 10 min (another 7 min needed to walk up to the "Pavillon Henri Chretien" inside the Observatoire). Hence total time door to door should be between 1 h and 1 h 30 min.

There is an alternative method where you walk from the Résidence to the Nice main train station (Nice Ville), which takes about 20 min, and then take one of the frequent local trains (direction Vintimille) which reaches the Riquier station (Gare Riquier) in 4 min.

From Best Western Hotel Nautica: Turn right as you come out of the hotel and follow rue Barberis two blocks until you come to rue Arson, then turn left and follow three blocks to place August Blanqui, where you take the minibus 74 to the Observatoire. See the schedule of bus 74 below.

Note that one can walk up from Gare Riquier to the Observatoire by a nice and steep path in 40 to 90 min depending on your shape (ask a knowledgeable person to show you the first time: not so easy to find).

From Hôtel Helvétique: Turn left as you come out of the hotel and walk to avenue Jean Medecin where you will take a bus number 1, or 2 or 5 to Riquier. The stop is in front of the bank Société Generale at the corner Jean Medecin-Hôtel des Postes. Some people prefer walking to Riquier (about 2 km).

The schedule of bus 74

departure Riquier Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 8:10, 8:45, 9:15, 9:50, 10:10, 11:00, 11:20, 12:05, 12:45, 13:10, 14:00, 14:400, 15:00, 15:50, 16:30, 17:05, 17:35, 18:00, 18:30, 19:00, 19:30. Return from Observatoire: 10:00, 10:30, 11:10, 11:35, 12:20, 13:00 13:25, 14:20, 14:50, 15:20, 16:05, 16:30, 17:20, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45 (better to show up 5 min early since bus may be early)

Wed, Sat. and period of school holidays (includes July and August): 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 8:10, 8:45, 9:15, 9:50, 10:10, 11:00, 11:20, 12:05, 12:45, 13:10, 14:00, 14:40, 15:00, 15:50, 16:30, 17:05, 17:30, 18:10, 18:50, 19:30. Return from Observatoire: 10:10, 11:00, 11:20, 12:05, 12:45, 13:10 14:00, 14:40, 15:00, 15:50, 16:30, 17:05, 17:30, 18:10, 18:50, 19:30 (better to show up 5 min early since bus may be early)

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Telephone

To call an observatory telephone from outside, dial 04 92 00 ## ##, where ## ## is a four-digit extension inside the observatory.

For local calls outside the observatory, dial 0 first, then the ten-digit French telephone number. For long-distance and foreign calls please ask a local participant who will give you a suitable code (somewhat confidential). Please note that you cannot call mobile phones from observatory fixed phones.

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Local network

There are several Linux PCs and X terminals with guest accounts available for participants (details of their location and access procedures are better explained on the spot rather than in an abstract text like this).

Should you like to connect your own laptop, please let us know in advance by dropping an email so that we arrange a static IP number for you. Once you have an IP, configure the TCP/IP access by indicating the IP 192.54.###.42 for the gateway and the IPs 192.54.###.60, 192.54.###.72 for the primary and secondary DNS (### must coincide with the corresponding part of your static IP, which may vary).

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