The Deep Extragalactic Survey

Mapping the Universe at z=1

The lookback time to redshifts z>1 is greater than half the age of the Universe. We aim to produce a map of the Universe at these early times, comparable in scope and detail to the maps of the local Universe being produced by 2dF and SDSS. This requires a survey at infrared wavelengths in order to sample the restframe optical. By comparing the properties of the Universe at these widely separated cosmic times we can perform critical tests of the current lambda CDM paradigm for the origin and growth of structure. For example the evolution of the abundance of galaxy clusters from z=0 to 1<z<1.5 is very sensitive to cosmological parameters. We will examine the evolution of bias for galaxies of different luminosity and type. And we will provide the crucial near-ir imaging for identification of reddened populations such as starburst galaxies and obscured AGN, that will allow a census of the individual contributions of stars and AGN to the global energy budget from X-ray to mm wavelengths. We propose to reach K=21 and J=22.5 over a total of 35sq. degs in three independent fields.