Overview
Mapping the large-scale structure of the universe with galaxy surveys is a key science driver for cosmology. It enables us to probe the late-time cosmic expansion, growth of structure, and even the primordial fluctuations. So far, the spatial distribution of galaxies has long been used as the major observable, ignoring the shapes and orientations of individual galaxies. While the orientations of distant galaxy images have been established as a promising tool to measure the weak gravitational lensing, intrinsic alignments (IAs) of galaxies are thought to be a contaminant to be removed in the cosmological data analysis. However, there is growing evidence that IAs are a good tracer of the gravitational tidal field, making themselves a unique channel to access the dynamics of the large-scale matter inhomogeneities. Therefore, it is expected that the use of IAs is beneficial, and with a proper theoretical modeling, a measurement of IAs can deliver the cosmological information, complementary to the conventional galaxy clustering data.
The aim of this workshop is to shed light on the IA and shapes of galaxies as a potentially powerful cosmological probe, and to consider future perspective on cosmology with large-scale structure surveys. Inviting people with expertise of this research field, we exchange ideas and discuss recent progress both from theoretical and observational point of view. Topics related to IA cosmology will be also discussed, along with future directions in light of large-scale observational programs.