Statistics of the Galaxy Distribution

Presents a comprehensive look at the use of spatial statistics in modern cosmology. After reviewing the standard model of the universe and our knowledge of its structure, the authors focus on extracting a detailed statistical description of the distribution of galaxies and how this description relates to major cosmological questions.

Over the last decade, statisticians have developed new statistical tools in the field of spatial point processes. At the same time, observational efforts have yielded a huge amount of new cosmological data to analyze. Although the main tools in astronomy for comparing theoretical results with observation are statistical, in recent years, cosmologists have not been generally aware of the developments in statistics and vice versa.

Statistics of the Galaxy Distribution describes both the available observational data on the distribution of galaxies and the applications of spatial statistics in cosmology. It gives a detailed derivation of the statistical methods used to study the galaxy distribution and the cosmological physics needed to formulate the statistical models. Because the prevalent approach in cosmological statistics has been frequentist, the authors focus on the most widely used of these methods, but they also explore Bayesian techniques that have become popular in large-scale structure studies.

Describing the most popular methods, their latest applications, and the necessary mathematical and astrophysical background, this groundbreaking book presents the state of the art in the statistical description of the large-scale structure of the Universe.
Cosmology''s well-defined and growing data sets represent an important challenge for the statistical analysis, and therefore for the statistics community. Statistics of the Galaxy Distribution presents a unique opportunity for researchers in both fields to strengthen the connection between them and, using a common language, explore the statistical description of the universe.