939 research outputs found
Photometric redshift galaxies as tracers of the filamentary network
Galaxy filaments are the dominant feature in the overall structure of the
cosmic web. The study of the filamentary web is an important aspect in
understanding galaxy evolution and the evolution of matter in the Universe. A
map of the filamentary structure is an adequate probe of the web. We propose
that photometric redshift galaxies are significantly positively associated with
the filamentary structure detected from the spatial distribution of
spectroscopic redshift galaxies. The catalogues of spectroscopic and
photometric galaxies are seen as point-process realisations in a sphere, and
the catalogue of filamentary spines is proposed to be a realisation of a random
set in a sphere. The positive association between these sets was studied using
a bivariate function, which is a summary statistics studying clustering. A
quotient was built to estimate the distance distribution of the filamentary
spine to galaxies in comparison to the distance distribution of the filamentary
spine to random points in dimensional Euclidean space. This measure gives a
physical distance scale to the distances between filamentary spines and the
studied sets of galaxies. The bivariate function shows a statistically
significant clustering effect in between filamentary spines and photometric
redshift galaxies. The quotient confirms the previous result that smaller
distances exist with higher probability between the photometric galaxies and
filaments. The trend of smaller distances between the objects grows stronger at
higher redshift. Additionally, the quotient for photometric galaxies gives
a rough estimate for the filamentary spine width of about ~Mpc. Photometric
redshift galaxies are positively associated with filamentary spines detected
from the spatial distribution of spectroscopic galaxies.Comment: Accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics. 13 pages and 9 figure
Bisous model - detecting filamentary patterns in point processes
The cosmic web is a highly complex geometrical pattern, with galaxy clusters
at the intersection of filaments and filaments at the intersection of walls.
Identifying and describing the filamentary network is not a trivial task due to
the overwhelming complexity of the structure, its connectivity and the
intrinsic hierarchical nature. To detect and quantify galactic filaments we use
the Bisous model, which is a marked point process built to model
multi-dimensional patterns. The Bisous filament finder works directly with the
galaxy distribution data and the model intrinsically takes into account the
connectivity of the filamentary network. The Bisous model generates the visit
map (the probability to find a filament at a given point) together with the
filament orientation field. Using these two fields, we can extract filament
spines from the data. Together with this paper we publish the computer code for
the Bisous model that is made available in GitHub. The Bisous filament finder
has been successfully used in several cosmological applications and further
development of the model will allow to detect the filamentary network also in
photometric redshift surveys, using the full redshift posterior. We also want
to encourage the astro-statistical community to use the model and to connect it
with all other existing methods for filamentary pattern detection and
characterisation.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Computin
Exciton coherence lifetimes from electronic structure
We model the coherent energy transfer of an electronic excitation within
covalently linked aromatic homodimers from first-principles, to answer whether
the usual models of the bath calculated via detailed electronic structure
calculations can reproduce the key dynamics. For these systems the timescales
of coherent transport are experimentally known from time-dependent polarization
anisotropy measurements, and so we can directly assess the whether current
techniques might be predictive for this phenomenon. Two choices of electronic
basis states are investigated, and their relative merits discussed regarding
the predictions of the perturbative model. The coupling of the electronic
degrees of freedom to the nuclear degrees of freedom is calculated rather than
assumed, and the fluorescence anisotropy decay is directly reproduced.
Surprisingly we find that although TDDFT absolute energies are routinely in
error by orders of magnitude more than the coupling energy, the coherent
transport properties of these dimers can be semi-quantitatively reproduced from
first-principles. The directions which must be pursued to yield predictive and
reliable prediction of coherent transport are suggested.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
An integrative approach based on probabilistic modelling and statistical inference for morpho-statistical characterization of astronomical data
This paper describes several applications in astronomy and cosmology that are
addressed using probabilistic modelling and statistical inference
Statistically bias-minimized peculiar velocity catalogs from Gibbs point processes and Bayesian inference
Galaxy peculiar velocities are excellent cosmological probes provided that
biases inherent to their measurements are contained before any study. This
paper proposes a new algorithm based on an object point process model whose
probability density is built to statistically reduce the effects of Malmquist
biases and uncertainties due to lognormal errors in radial peculiar velocity
catalogs. More precisely, a simulated annealing algorithm permits maximizing
the probability density describing the point process model. The resulting
configurations are bias-minimized catalogs. Tests are conducted on synthetic
catalogs mimicking the second and third distance modulus catalogs of the
Cosmicflows project from which peculiar velocity catalogs are derived. By
reducing the local peculiar velocity variance in catalogs by an order of
magnitude, the algorithm permits recovering the expected one while preserving
the small-scale velocity correlation. It also permits retrieving the expected
clustering. The algorithm is then applied to the observational catalogs. The
large-scale structure reconstructed with the Wiener-filter technique applied to
the bias-minimized observational catalogs matches with great success the local
cosmic web as depicted by redshift surveys of local galaxies. These new
bias-minimized versions of peculiar velocity catalogs can be used as a starting
point for several studies from possibly estimating the most probable Hubble
constant, H0, value to the production of simulations constrained to reproduce
the local Universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 26 pages, 22 figures, 3 table
A correlated-polaron electronic propagator: open electronic dynamics beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation
In this work we develop a theory of correlated many-electron dynamics dressed
by the presence of a finite-temperature harmonic bath. The theory is based on
the ab-initio Hamiltonian, and thus well-defined apart from any
phenomenological choice of collective basis states or electronic coupling
model. The equation-of-motion includes some bath effects non-perturbatively,
and can be used to simulate line- shapes beyond the Markovian approximation and
open electronic dynamics which are subjects of renewed recent interest. Energy
conversion and transport depend critically on the ratio of electron-electron
coupling to bath-electron coupling, which is a fitted parameter if a
phenomenological basis of many-electron states is used to develop an electronic
equation of motion. Since the present work doesn't appeal to any such basis, it
avoids this ambiguity. The new theory produces a level of detail beyond the
adiabatic Born-Oppenheimer states, but with cost scaling like the
Born-Oppenheimer approach. While developing this model we have also applied the
time-convolutionless perturbation theory to correlated molecular excitations
for the first time. Resonant response properties are given by the formalism
without phenomenological parameters. Example propagations with a developmental
code are given demonstrating the treatment of electron-correlation in
absorption spectra, vibronic structure, and decay in an open system.Comment: 25 pages 7 figure
Computational Complexity of Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory
Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is rapidly emerging as a premier method for solving dynamical many-body problems in physics and chemistry. The mathematical foundations of TDDFT are established through the formal existence of a fictitious non-interacting system (known as the Kohn–Sham system), which can reproduce the one-electron reduced probability density of the actual system. We build upon these works and show that on the interior of the domain of existence, the Kohn–Sham system can be efficiently obtained given the time-dependent density. We introduce a V-representability parameter which diverges at the boundary of the existence domain and serves to quantify the numerical difficulty of constructing the Kohn–Sham potential. For bounded values of V-representability, we present a polynomial time quantum algorithm to generate the time-dependent Kohn–Sham potential with controllable error bounds.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog
The Cosmic Ballet II: spin alignment of galaxies and haloes with large-scale filaments in the EAGLE simulation
We investigate the alignment of galaxies and haloes relative to cosmic web filaments using the EAGLE hydrodynamical simulation. We identify filaments by applying the NEXUS+ method to the mass distribution and the Bisous formalism to the galaxy distribution. Both return similar filamentary structures that are well aligned and that contain comparable galaxy populations. EAGLE haloes have an identical spin alignment with filaments as their counterparts in dark-matter-only simulations: a complex mass-dependent trend with low-mass haloes spinning preferentially parallel to and high-mass haloes spinning preferentially perpendicular to filaments. In contrast, galaxy spins do not show such a transition and have a propensity for perpendicular alignments at all masses, with the degree of alignment being largest for massive galaxies. This result is valid for both NEXUS+ and Bisous filaments. When splitting by morphology, we find that elliptical galaxies show a stronger orthogonal spin-filament alignment than spiral galaxies of similar mass. The same is true of their host haloes. Due to the misalignment between galaxy shape and spin, galaxy minor axes are oriented differently with filaments than galaxy spins. We find that the galaxies whose minor axis is perpendicular to a filament are much better aligned with their host haloes. This suggests that many of the same physical processes determine both the galaxy-filament and the galaxy- halo alignments. The volume of the EAGLE simulation is relatively small and many of the alignments we have found are weak; validation of our conclusions will require hydrodynamical simulations of significantly larger volumes
Recommended from our members
The Lopsided Distribution of Satellites of Isolated Central Galaxies
Satellites are not randomly distributed around their central galaxies but show polar and planar structures. In this paper, we investigate the axis asymmetry or lopsidedness of satellite galaxy distributions around isolated galaxies in a hydrodynamic cosmological simulation. We find a statistically significant lopsided signal by studying the angular distribution of the satellite galaxies' projected positions around isolated central galaxies in a two-dimensional plane. The signal is dependent on galaxy mass, color, and large-scale environment. Satellites that inhabit low-mass blue hosts, or located further from the hosts, show the most lopsided signal. Galaxy systems with massive neighbors exhibit stronger lopsidedness. This satellite axis-asymmetry signal also decreases as the universe evolves. Our findings are in agreement with recent observational results and they provide a useful perspective for studying galaxy evolution, especially on the satellite accretion, internal evolution, and interaction with the cosmic large-scale structure. © 2021. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
- …