2,176 research outputs found
Scaling in Gravitational Clustering, 2D and 3D Dynamics
Perturbation Theory (PT) applied to a cosmological density field with
Gaussian initial fluctuations suggests a specific hierarchy for the correlation
functions when the variance is small. In particular quantitative predictions
have been made for the moments and the shape of the one-point probability
distribution function (PDF) of the top-hat smoothed density. In this paper we
perform a series of systematic checks of these predictions against N-body
computations both in 2D and 3D with a wide range of featureless power spectra.
In agreement with previous studies, we found that the reconstructed PDF-s work
remarkably well down to very low probabilities, even when the variance
approaches unity. Our results for 2D reproduce the features for the 3D
dynamics. In particular we found that the PT predictions are more accurate for
spectra with less power on small scales. The nonlinear regime has been explored
with various tools, PDF-s, moments and Void Probability Function (VPF). These
studies have been done with unprecedented dynamical range, especially for the
2D case, allowing in particular more robust determinations of the asymptotic
behaviour of the VPF. We have also introduced a new method to determine the
moments based on the factorial moments. Results using this method and taking
into account the finite volume effects are presented.Comment: 13 pages, Latex file, 9 Postscript Figure
Non-local scaling in two-dimensional gravitational clustering
Using an ensemble of high resolution 2D numerical simulations, we explore the
scaling properties of cosmological density fluctuations in the non-linear
regime. We study the scaling behaviour of the usual --point volume-averaged
correlations, and also examine the scaling of the entire probability density
function (pdf) of the fluctuations. We focus on two important issues: (i)
whether the scaling behaviour of 2D clustering is consistent with what one
infer from radial collapse arguments; and (ii) whether there is any evidence
from these high-resolution simulations that a regime of stable clustering is
ever entered. We find that the answers are (i) yes and (ii) no. We further find
that the behaviour of the highly non-linear regime in these simulations
suggests the existence of a regime where the correlation function is
independent of the initial power spectrum.Comment: 5 pages, Latex file, 2 Postscript Figure
Cosmology with weak lensing surveys
Weak gravitational lensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening mass. Since the lensing effects arise from deflections of the light rays due to fluctuations of the gravitational potential, they can be directly related to the underlying density field of the large-scale structures. Weak gravitational surveys are complimentary to both galaxy surveys and cosmic microwave background observations as they probe unbiased nonlinear matter power spectra at medium redshift. Ongoing CMB experiments such as WMAP and future Planck satellite mission will measure the standard cosmological parameters with unprecedented accuracy. The focus of attention will then shift to understanding the nature of dark matter and vacuum energy: several recent studies suggest that lensing is the best method for constraining the dark energy equation of state. During the next 5 year period ongoing and future weak lensing surveys such as the Supernova Anisotropy Probe (SNAP), Large-aperture Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will play a major role in advancing our understanding of the universe in this direction. In this review article we describe various aspects of probing the matter power spectrum and the bispectrum and other related statistics with weak lensing surveys. This can be used to probe the background dynamics of the universe as well as the nature of dark matter and dark energy
Screening of a Moving Parton in the Quark-Gluon Plasma
The screening potential of a parton moving through a quark-gluon plasma is
calculated using the semi-classical transport theory. An anisotropic potential
showing a minimum in the direction of the parton velocity is found. As
consequences possible new bound states and J/psi dissociation are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, final, extended version, to be published in
Phys.Rev.
Sersiclets - A Matched Filter Extension of Shapelets for Weak Lensing Studies
The precision study of dark matter using weak lensing by large scale
structure is strongly constrained by the accuracy with which one can measure
galaxy shapes. Several methods have been devised but none have demonstrated the
ability to reach the level of precision required by future weak lensing
surveys. In this Letter we explore new avenues to the existing Shapelets
approach, combining a priori knowledge of the galaxy profile with the power of
orthogonal basis function decomposition. This Letter discusses the new issues
raised by this matched filter approach and proposes promising alternatives to
shape measurement techniques. In particular it appears that the use of a
matched filter (e.g. Sersic profile) restricted to elliptical radial fitting
functions resolves several well known Shapelet issues.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. MNRAS Accepte
Bias and Hierarchical Clustering
It is now well established that galaxies are biased tracers of the
distribution of matter, although it is still not known what form this bias
takes. In local bias models the propensity for a galaxy to form at a point
depends only on the overall density of matter at that point. Hierarchical
scaling arguments allow one to build a fully-specified model of the underlying
distribution of matter and to explore the effects of local bias in the regime
of strong clustering. Using a generating-function method developed by
Bernardeau & Schaeffer (1992), we show that hierarchical models lead one
directly to the conclusion that a local bias does not alter the shape of the
galaxy correlation function relative to the matter correlation function on
large scales. This provides an elegant extension of a result first obtained by
Coles (1993) for Gaussian underlying fields and confirms the conclusions of
Scherrer & Weinberg (1998) obtained using a different approach. We also argue
that particularly dense regions in a hierarchical density field display a form
of bias that is different from that obtained by selecting such peaks in
Gaussian fields: they are themselves hierarchically distributed with scaling
parameters . This kind of bias is also factorizable, thus in
principle furnishing a simple test of this class of models.Comment: Latex, accepted for publication in ApJL; moderate revision
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