Constraining the nature of Dark Energy and Dark Matter is one of the top themes of modern astrophysics. In this lecture, we present a coherent picture of this topic using information carried by radio and X-ray wavelengths. In the first part of the lecture, we cover the theoretical background of dark matter and dark energy tests, describe several practical approaches with an emphasis on the use of galaxy clusters, and give an overview of relevant current and future instruments. In the second part, we describe modern distance determination methods, structure formation, Compact High-Velocity Clouds, the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium and the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect. In the corresponding lab, you will learn how to reduce and analyze galaxy cluster X-ray data from the satellite observatory XMM-Newton.
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Click here for students' evaluations of this course: WS09/10, WS10/11, WS11/12.