DEMON: a proposal for a satellite-borne experiment to study dark matter and dark energy

Abstract

We outline a novel satellite mission concept, DEMON, aimed at advancing our comprehension of both dark matter and dark energy, taking full advantage of two complementary methods: weak lensing and the statistics of galaxy clusters. We intend to carry out a 5000 deg2 combined IR, optical and X-ray survey with galaxies up to a redshift of z~2 in order todetermine the shear correlation function. We will also find ~100000 galaxy clusters, making it the largest survey of this type to date. The DEMON spacecraft will comprise one IR/optical and eight X-ray telescopes,coupled to multiple cameras operating at different frequency bands. To a great extent, the technology employed has already been partially tested on ongoing missions, therefore ensuring improved reliability