Dark Energy
Our universe is rapidly expanding, and we're not exactly sure why. We call this "why" Dark Energy. We use observations and simulations of the cosmos to explore the nature of this myserious force.
Claire Lamman
Hello! I am a graduate student at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics, working with Daniel Eisenstein. I'm interested in exploring the dark sector of our universe, dark energy and dark matter, through observations of galaxies. Most of my time is spent figuring out the best way to condense information - whether it be finding a good statistic to quanify galaxy coorelations or explaining a cosmology idea to the public.
DESI
Tens of millions of galaxies. Hundreds of astronomers. Five thousand tiny robots.
I'm part of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument: a global collaboration which is mapping out the nearby Universe.
Overview of my Research
I am currently studying how the alignment of galaxies will affect our measurments of the Universe's structure. To see summaries of my work for various audiences, click below.
Outreach
5000 Eyes Planetarium Film
I created and directed a planetarium movie, 5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI. A flat version is available on YouTube and all materials can be downloaded for free from Fiske Planetarium. As of July '23, the film has been translated into six languages and downloaded 156 times in 28 countries and 35 states. Watch the trailer
Cake!
You may have found this website through one of my baking posts. I make a lot of astro-themed treats (video). For the highlights, check out my twitter account. To see all bakes and descriptions of the science which inspired them, see my instagram.
Organizations
I am a co-chair of DESI's Education and Public Outreach Team. In addition to the DESI planetarium film, I make DESI-themed art, including a comic.
I am a leader in ComSciCon, a series of science communication workshops for grad students, by grad students.
Recorded Presentations
Berkeley Lab: Clip of 5000 Eyes Panel (2 min) watch Fiske Planetarium: Live 2019 Commencement Show (15 min) watch Astro Chat: Introducing myself and my research to students (50 min) watch Fiske Planetarium: "TESS, Discovering Distant Worlds" | NASA short full dome film watch
Intrinsic Alignment
The large-scale structure of the Universe leaves its mark on visible matter through subtle correlations involving galaxy shapes, galaxy spins, and the underlying cosmic web. These “Intrinsic Alignments” can only be observed with tens of thousands of galaxies. But how do we quantify them?
Untangling the Cosmic Web
Even the smallest of correlations between galaxies and their environment can impact measurements on the largest scales.
- Full Curriculum Vitae
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Selected Papers
C. Lamman et al., “Redshift dependent RSD bias from Intrinsic Alignment with DESI Y1 Spectra”, Submitted to MNRAS Dec 2023.
Click here for an accessible summary of this paper!C. Lamman et al., “The IA Guide: A Breakdown of Intrinsic Alignment Formalisms”, submitted September 2023.
Click here for an accessible summary of this paper!C. Lamman et al., “Intrinsic Alignment as an RSD Contaminant in the DESI Survey”, MNRAS June 2023.
Click here for an accessible summary of this paper!C. Lamman et al. “Robo-AO M Dwarf Multiplicity Survey: Catalog”, AJ April 2020.