INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON "COSMIC FLOWS"
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From: Cosmic Flows 1999 Conference
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 16:20:54 -0700 (PDT)
To: cflows99_list@dns.dao.nrc.ca
Subject: COSMOLOGY CONFERENCE IN VICTORIA
** PLEASE CIRCULATE **
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON
"COSMIC FLOWS"
Victoria, B.C., Canada
Saturday 26 June to Wednesday 30 June 1999
This is a first announcement to solicit your participation in an international
workshop on Cosmic Flows. This workshop is currently supported by the
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics and the University of Victoria in Canada.
Applications for sponsorship from CITA, NATO, and the IAU have also been made.
> VENUE:
The workshop will be held at the University of Victoria. Accomodation and
meals will also be provided on campus.
> MOTIVATION:
The study of cosmic velocity fields as an unbiased measure of the large-scale
structure in the Universe is undergoing a renaissance with many new large
and well-calibrated redshift-distance surveys covering the whole sky. For
the first time, different distance indicators (SBF, SNe, TF, FP, BCGs) can
be used to map out similar volumes of space to a fairly high degree of
confidence. Very recent studies also corroborate earlier findings of high
amplitude coherent motions on very large scales, at odds with the quieter
flows on smaller scales. If true, these very large streaming motions are
pushing cosmological models to the breaking point. Numerical modelling and
N-body simulations have also improved dramatically in recent years and now
provide powerful tools to reconstruct the three-dimensional velocity field
and model galaxy biasing. Still, the simple linear biasing scheme employed
in most analyses to date is clearly an over-simplification and we must
explore the effects of non-linear, time-dependent, stochastic biases for our
interpretation of cosmic velocity fields.
The time is ripe for a dedicated workshop on cosmic flows. It has been a
decade since the discovery of the Great Attractor and 5 years since the
detection of very large streaming motions by Lauer and Postman. The coming
year promises to set a new milestone in Cosmic Flow studies. We plan to
convene in a beautiful setting to discuss the challenges presented by the
new (and old) data and agree on the various ways to interpret them.
> SCIENTIFIC GOALS:
The goal of this workshop is to promote in-depth discussions and exchanges
between most researchers in the field in an informal, relaxed setting. The
following topics will be covered:
* Redshift-Distance Surveys
* Universality of Distance Indicators
* Local Velocity Field
* Mock Catalogs
* Velocity/Density Reconstructions
* Biasing
* Cosmological Implications of Cosmic Flows
* Homogeneity of the Universe
> ORAL AND POSTER CONTRIBUTIONS:
We will invite 7 review presentations to cover the topics listed above.
The invited speakers will introduce the main questions in ``long'' talks
(35+10 minutes questions/answers). They will summarize our current knowledge
of the issue, and offer their perspective on the main questions. We have
allocated ~1/4 of the time for discussion, to initiate debate about the
issues. More time will be allocated for in depth discussions at the end of
each day (see below).
30 shorter oral contributions (20+5 min) will follow the 45min reviews, and
will expand the topic introduced in the long presentation. These shorter
talks will be selected by the Organizing Committee from among those submitted
by the participants.
We will encourage original and up-to-date presentations, hoping to avoid a
reiteration of the astro-ph.
Those unable to give an oral presentation due to time limitations will be
asked to contribute to the poster session, to stimulate further debate with
their results. Special sessions will be arranged to discuss the posters.
Each day of the conference will be closed by a group discussion on the
major accomplishments and progresses made that day. We want to allocate
a lot of time for discussions to allow real debate about the issues.
> MEETING AGENDA:
The meeting will last 4 days, beginning on Saturday evening with a first
reception and registration. Sunday, Monday and Wednesday will be full and
Tuesday afternoon is allocated for a visit of the Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics and Dominion Astrophysical Observatory en route to the
spectacular East Sooke Provincial Park for an afternoon hike along the
Pacific Ocean. A banquet will be held on the very last day of the conference.
Attendance is likely to be limited to 100-120 people: voice your interest
soon! We do not offer funding at present. We will advise if we find
generous sponsors.
Proceedings are to be published and we are currently negotiating with various
editors. We aim for a fast turnout with a 30 day submission deadline after
the conference.
> ORGANIZING COMMITTEES:
Scientific: Stephane Courteau (NRC/HIA), Roger Davies (Durham),
Marc Davis (UCB), Avishai Dekel (Hebrew Univ.),
Riccardo Giovanelli (Cornell), Tod Lauer (NOAO/KPNO),
Michael Strauss (Princeton)
Local: Stephane Courteau [Chair], Jim Hesser (NRC/HIA),
Mike Hudson (UVic), Julio Navarro (UVic)
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If you wish to receive the Second Announcement of this workshop, please
complete and return the form below to cflows99@hia.nrc.ca. Only those
who reply will be kept on the list.
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INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON "COSMIC FLOWS"
Victoria, B.C., Canada
26-30 June 1999
I will attend the meeting: (choose from the 3 options below) _________
Definitely Very likely Possibly
I would like to contribute a: [poster] [oral presentation]
Provisional title / Area of specialization: ___________________________
Name:
Postal Address:
Email:
FAX:
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