This project will use a specially targeted sample of luminous early-type galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to probe the power spectrum on large scales to unprecedented accuracy, and to study the evolution of these massive galaxies. The volume and uniformity of the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) sample, which has a roughly constant co-moving number density, make it far superior to any other existing or planned survey for estimating the large-scale power spectrum. The research will focus on the baryon acoustic oscillations as a critical cosmological test, capable of quantifying the acceleration of the Universe with a precision similar to the supernova test but using a completely independent and very clean method. The SDSS LRG sample also provides an enormous data set for the study of the most massive galaxies in the universe today. This remarkable view of the physics of structure formation and hierarchical galaxy evolution should yield important progress on these two core issues of modern cosmology.
