Dark UNiverse Explorations

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Special Research Area (SFB) “Dark UNiverse Explorations – DUNE” establishes an Austrian research network that brings together scientists from the University of Innsbruck, the University of Vienna, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA).. Embedded into large international collaborations, such as the Euclid Consortium, the ARRAKIHS Consortium and COLIBRE, the interdisciplinary DUNE team probes the nature of the dominant invisible components of the Universe, dark matter and dark energy, by analysing Euclid and JWST observations and combining them with state-of-the-art simulations.

The general goal of the SFB Dark UNiverse Explorations (DUNE) is to study the dark Universe by confronting key challenges in cosmology and galaxy formation. To obtain a comprehensive picture, DUNE will use probes spanning a wide range of masses and scales, from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters. DUNE combines the expertise of the observational groups at Innsbruck University (CoIs Grandis, Linke, Marleau, Schrabback) and the ISTA (CoI Matthee), and combines them with the theory and simulation‑focused research at Vienna University (CoIs Hahn, Ploeckinger). With this team, we connect observations with improved model predictions, covering three of the most exciting Euclid & JWST science topics: cosmology using weak lensing data and galaxy clusters, small‑scale cosmological and astrophysical studies using dwarf galaxies, and the physics of galaxies at cosmic noon.