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University of Massachusetts Amherst

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Large-scale structure of universe

Articles 1 - 28 of 28

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Mapping The Dark Matter From Uv Light At High Redshift: An Empirical Approach To Understand Galaxy Statistics, Kyoung-Soo Lee, Mauro Giavalisco, Charlie Conroy, Risa H. Wechsler, Henry C. Ferguson, Rachel S. Somerville, Mark E. Dickinson, Claudia M. Urry Jan 2009

Mapping The Dark Matter From Uv Light At High Redshift: An Empirical Approach To Understand Galaxy Statistics, Kyoung-Soo Lee, Mauro Giavalisco, Charlie Conroy, Risa H. Wechsler, Henry C. Ferguson, Rachel S. Somerville, Mark E. Dickinson, Claudia M. Urry

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We present a simple formalism to interpret the observations of two galaxy statistics, the UV luminosity function (LF) and two-point correlation functions for star-forming galaxies at z∼4, 5, and 6 in the context of Λ cold dark matter cosmology. Both statistics are the result of how star formation takes place in dark matter halos, and thus are used to constrain how UV light depends on halo properties, in particular halo mass. The two physical quantities we explore are the star formation duty cycle, and the range of UV luminosity that a halo of mass M can have (mean and …


The Nature Of Red Dwarf Galaxies, Y Wang, Xh Yang, Hj Mo, Fc Van Den Bosch, N Katz, A Pasquali, Dh Mcintosh, Sm Weinmann Jan 2009

The Nature Of Red Dwarf Galaxies, Y Wang, Xh Yang, Hj Mo, Fc Van Den Bosch, N Katz, A Pasquali, Dh Mcintosh, Sm Weinmann

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Using dark matter halos traced by galaxy groups selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4, we find that about 1/4 of the faint galaxies (0.1 Mr – 5log h> – 17.05, hereafter dwarfs) that are the central galaxies in their own halo are not blue and star forming, as expected in standard models of galaxy formation, but are red. In contrast, this fraction is about 1/2 for dwarf satellite galaxies. Many red dwarf galaxies are physically associated with more massive halos. In total, about ~45% of red dwarf galaxies reside in massive halos as satellites, …


Baryon Dynamics, Dark Matter Substructure, And Galaxies, Dh Weinberg, S Colombi, R Dave, N Katz Jan 2008

Baryon Dynamics, Dark Matter Substructure, And Galaxies, Dh Weinberg, S Colombi, R Dave, N Katz

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

By comparing a collisionless cosmological N-body simulation (DM) to a smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation (SPH) with the same initial conditions, we investigate the correspondence between dark matter subhalos produced by collisionless dynamics and galaxies produced by dissipative gas dynamics in a dark matter background. When galaxies in the SPH simulation fall into larger groups and become satellites, they retain local dark matter concentrations (SPH subhalos) whose mass is typically 5 times the galaxy baryonic mass (compared to the simulation's universal ratio Ωdmb 7.5). The more massive subhalos of the SPH simulation generally have corresponding subhalos of …


From Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing To Cosmological Parameters, J Yoo, Jl Tinker, Dh Weinberg, Z Zheng, N Katz, R Dave Jan 2006

From Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing To Cosmological Parameters, J Yoo, Jl Tinker, Dh Weinberg, Z Zheng, N Katz, R Dave

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Galaxy-galaxy lensing uses the weak distortion of background sources to measure the mean excess surface density profile, ΔΣ(r), around a sample of foreground lensing galaxies. We develop a method for combining ΔΣ(r) with the galaxy-galaxy correlation function ξgg(r) to constrain the matter density parameter Ωm and the matter fluctuation amplitude σ8, going beyond the linear biasing model to reach the level of accuracy demanded by current and future measurements. We adopt the halo occupation distribution (HOD) framework and test its applicability to this problem by examining the effects of …


The Galaxy Angular Correlation Functions And Power Spectrum From The Two Micron All Sky Survey, Ah Maller, Dh Mcintosh, N Katz, Md Weinberg Jan 2005

The Galaxy Angular Correlation Functions And Power Spectrum From The Two Micron All Sky Survey, Ah Maller, Dh Mcintosh, N Katz, Md Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We calculate the angular correlation function of galaxies in the Two Micron All Sky Survey. We minimize the possible contamination by stars, dust, seeing, and sky brightness by studying their cross correlation with galaxy density and limiting the galaxy sample accordingly. We measure the correlation function at scales between 1' < θ < 18° using a half-million galaxies. We find that a best-fit power law to the correlation function has a slope of -0.79 ± 0.02 and an amplitude at 1° of 0.10 ± 0.01 in the range 1'-2fdg5. However, there are statistically significant oscillations around this power law. The largest oscillation occurs at about 0fdg8, corresponding to 700 h-1 kpc at the median redshift of our survey, as expected in halo occupation distribution descriptions of galaxy clustering. In addition, there is a break in the power-law shape of the correlation function at θ > 2fdg5. Our results are in good agreement with other measurements of the angular correlation function. We invert the angular correlation function using singular value decomposition to measure the three-dimensional power spectrum and find that it too is in good agreement with previous measurements. A dip seen in the power spectrum …


Theoretical Models Of The Halo Occupation Distribution: Separating Central And Satellite Galaxies, Z Zheng, Aa Berlind, Dh Weinberg, Aj Benson, Cm Baugh, S Cole, R Dave, Cs Frenk, N Katz, Cg Lacey Jan 2005

Theoretical Models Of The Halo Occupation Distribution: Separating Central And Satellite Galaxies, Z Zheng, Aa Berlind, Dh Weinberg, Aj Benson, Cm Baugh, S Cole, R Dave, Cs Frenk, N Katz, Cg Lacey

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

The halo occupation distribution (HOD) describes the relation between galaxies and dark matter at the level of individual dark matter halos. The properties of galaxies residing at the centers of halos differ from those of satellite galaxies because of differences in their formation histories. Using a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation and a semianalytic (SA) galaxy formation model, we examine the separate contributions of central and satellite galaxies to the HOD, more specifically to the probability P(N|M) that a halo of virial mass M contains N galaxies of a particular class. In agreement with earlier …


Interpreting The Relationship Between Galaxy Luminosity, Color, And Environment, Aa Berlind, Mr Blanton, Dw Hogg, Dh Weinberg, R Dave, Dj Eisenstein, N Katz Jan 2005

Interpreting The Relationship Between Galaxy Luminosity, Color, And Environment, Aa Berlind, Mr Blanton, Dw Hogg, Dh Weinberg, R Dave, Dj Eisenstein, N Katz

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We study the relationship between galaxy luminosity, color, and environment in a cosmological simulation of galaxy formation. Using a simple prescription to assign colors and luminosities to simulated galaxies, we compare the predicted relationship with that observed for SDSS galaxies and find that the model successfully predicts most of the qualitative features seen in the data, but also shows some interesting differences. Specifically, the simulation predicts that the local density around bright red galaxies is a strong increasing function of luminosity, but does not depend much on color at fixed luminosity. Moreover, we show that these trends are due to …


Simulation Of Soft X-Ray Emission Lines From The Missing Baryons, Tt Fang, Rac Croft, Wt Sanders, J Houck, R Dave, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, L Hernquist Jan 2005

Simulation Of Soft X-Ray Emission Lines From The Missing Baryons, Tt Fang, Rac Croft, Wt Sanders, J Houck, R Dave, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, L Hernquist

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We study the soft X-ray emission (0.1-1 keV) from the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in a hydrodynamic simulation of a cold dark matter universe. Our main goal is to investigate how such emission can be explored with a combination of imaging and spectroscopy and to motivate future X-ray missions. We first present high-resolution images of the X-ray emission in several energy bands in which emission from different ion species dominates. We pick three different areas to study the high-resolution spectra of X-rays from the WHIM: (1) a galaxy group, (2) a filament, and (3) an underluminous region. By taking into …


Galaxy Clustering And Galaxy Bias In A Lambda Cdm Universe, Dh Weinberg, R Dave, N Katz, L Hernquist Jan 2004

Galaxy Clustering And Galaxy Bias In A Lambda Cdm Universe, Dh Weinberg, R Dave, N Katz, L Hernquist

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We investigate galaxy clustering and the correlations between galaxies and mass in the ΛCDM cosmological model (inflationary cold dark matter with Ωm = 0.4, ΩΛ = 0.6, h = 0.65, n = 0.95, and σ8 = 0.8), using a large, smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation (SPH; with 2 × 1443 particles in a 50 h-1 Mpc cube). Simulated galaxies can be unambiguously identified as clumps of stars and cold gas a few kpc to a few tens of kpc across, residing in extended halos of hot gas and dark matter; the space density of the resolved …


The Clustering Dipole Of The Local Universe From The Two Micron All Sky Survey, Ah Maller, Dh Mcintosh, N Katz, Md Weinberg Jan 2003

The Clustering Dipole Of The Local Universe From The Two Micron All Sky Survey, Ah Maller, Dh Mcintosh, N Katz, Md Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

The unprecedented sky coverage and photometric uniformity of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) provides a rich resource for investigating the galaxies populating the local universe. A full characterization of the large-scale clustering distribution is important for theoretical studies of structure formation. 2MASS offers an all-sky view of the local galaxy population at 2.15 μm, unbiased by young stellar light and minimally affected by dust. We use 2MASS to map the local distribution of galaxies, identifying the largest structures in the nearby universe. The inhomogeneity of these structures causes an acceleration on the Local Group of galaxies, which can …


X-Ray Absorption By The Low-Redshift Intergalactic Medium: A Numerical Study Of The Lambda Cold Dark Matter Model, Xl Chen, Dh Weinberg, N Katz, R Dave Jan 2003

X-Ray Absorption By The Low-Redshift Intergalactic Medium: A Numerical Study Of The Lambda Cold Dark Matter Model, Xl Chen, Dh Weinberg, N Katz, R Dave

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Using a hydrodynamic simulation of a cold dark matter universe with a cosmological constant, we investigate the "X-ray forest" absorption imprinted on the spectra of background quasars by the intervening intergalactic medium (IGM), at redshift z 0. In agreement with previous studies, we find that O VII and O VIII produce the strongest absorption features. The strong oxygen absorbers that might be detectable with Chandra or XMM-Newton arise in gas with T ~ 105.5-106.5 K and overdensities δ 100 that are characteristic of galaxy groups. Future X-ray missions could detect weaker oxygen absorption produced by gas with …


The Halo Occupation Distribution And The Physics Of Galaxy Formation, Aa Berlind, Dh Weinberg, Aj Benson, Cm Baugh, S Cole, R Dave, Cs Frenk, A Jenkins, N Katz, Cg Lacey Jan 2003

The Halo Occupation Distribution And The Physics Of Galaxy Formation, Aa Berlind, Dh Weinberg, Aj Benson, Cm Baugh, S Cole, R Dave, Cs Frenk, A Jenkins, N Katz, Cg Lacey

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

The halo occupation distribution (HOD) describes the bias between galaxies and dark matter by specifying (1) the probability P(N|M) that a halo of virial mass M contains N galaxies of a particular class and (2) the relative spatial and velocity distributions of galaxies and dark matter within halos. We calculate and compare the HODs predicted by a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation of a ΛCDM cosmological model (cold dark matter with a cosmological constant) and by a semianalytic galaxy formation model applied to the same cosmology. Although the two methods predict different galaxy mass functions, …


The Influence Of Omega(B) On High-Redshift Structure, Jp Gardner, N Katz, L Hernquist, Dh Weinberg Jan 2003

The Influence Of Omega(B) On High-Redshift Structure, Jp Gardner, N Katz, L Hernquist, Dh Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We analyze high-redshift structure in three hydrodynamic simulations that have identical initial conditions and cosmological parameters and differ only in the value of the baryon density parameter, Ωb = 0.02, 0.05, and 0.125. Increasing Ωb does not change the fraction of baryons in the diffuse (unshocked) phase of the intergalactic medium, but it increases cooling rates and therefore transfers some baryons from the shocked intergalactic phase to the condensed phase associated with galaxies. Predictions of Lyα forest absorption are almost unaffected by changes in Ωb at velocity scales greater than 5 km s-1 (our resolution limit), …


Toward A Precise Measurement Of Matter Clustering: Ly Alpha Forest Data At Redshifts 2-4, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, M Bolte, S Burles, L Hernquist, N Katz, D Kirkman, D Tytler Jan 2002

Toward A Precise Measurement Of Matter Clustering: Ly Alpha Forest Data At Redshifts 2-4, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, M Bolte, S Burles, L Hernquist, N Katz, D Kirkman, D Tytler

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We measure the filling factor, correlation function, and power spectrum of transmitted flux in a large sample of Lyα forest spectra, comprised of 30 Keck HIRES spectra and 23 Keck LRIS spectra. We infer the linear matter power spectrum P(k) from the flux power spectrum PF(k), using an improved version of the method of Croft et al. that accounts for the influence of redshift-space distortions, nonlinearity, and thermal broadening on the shape of PF(k). The evolution of the shape and amplitude of P(k) over the redshift …


Comparing Simulations And Observations Of The Ly Alpha Forest. I. Methodology, Ce Petry, Cd Impey, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, Le Hernquist Jan 2002

Comparing Simulations And Observations Of The Ly Alpha Forest. I. Methodology, Ce Petry, Cd Impey, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, Le Hernquist

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We describe techniques for comparing spectra extracted from cosmological simulations and observational data, using the same methodology to link Lyα properties derived from the simulations with properties derived from observational data. The eventual goal is to measure the coherence or clustering properties of Lyα absorbers using observations of quasar pairs and groups. We quantify the systematic underestimate in opacity that is inherent in the continuum-fitting process of observed spectra over a range of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). We present an automated process for detecting and selecting absorption features over the range of resolution and S/N of typical observational data …


High-Redshift Galaxies In Cold Dark Matter Models, Dh Weinberg, L Hernquist, N Katz Jan 2002

High-Redshift Galaxies In Cold Dark Matter Models, Dh Weinberg, L Hernquist, N Katz

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We use hydrodynamic cosmological simulations to predict the star formation properties of high-redshift galaxies (z = 2-6) in five variants of the inflationary cold dark matter scenario, paying particular attention to z = 3, the redshift of the largest "Lyman break galaxy" (LBG) samples. Because we link the star formation timescale to the local gas density, the rate at which a galaxy forms stars is governed mainly by the rate at which it accretes cooled gas from the surrounding medium. At z = 3, star formation in most of the simulated galaxies is steady on ~200 Myr timescales, and …


Hydrodynamic Simulation Of The Cosmological X-Ray Background, Rac Croft, T Di Matteo, L Hernquist, N Katz, Ma Fardal, Dh Weinberg Jan 2001

Hydrodynamic Simulation Of The Cosmological X-Ray Background, Rac Croft, T Di Matteo, L Hernquist, N Katz, Ma Fardal, Dh Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We use a hydrodynamic simulation of an inflationary cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant to predict properties of the extragalactic X-ray background (XRB). We focus on emission from the intergalactic medium (IGM), with particular attention to diffuse emission from warm-hot gas that lies in relatively smooth filamentary structures between galaxies and galaxy clusters. We also include X-rays from point sources associated with galaxies in the simulation, and we make maps of the angular distribution of the emission. Although much of the X-ray luminous gas has a filamentary structure, the filaments are not evident in the simulated maps because …


Constraints On Cosmological Parameters From The Ly Alpha Forest Power Spectrum And Cobe Dmr, J Phillips, Dh Weinberg, Rac Croft, L Hernquist, N Katz, M Pettini Jan 2001

Constraints On Cosmological Parameters From The Ly Alpha Forest Power Spectrum And Cobe Dmr, J Phillips, Dh Weinberg, Rac Croft, L Hernquist, N Katz, M Pettini

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We combine COBE DMR measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy with a recent measurement of the mass power spectrum at redshift z = 2.5 from Lyα forest data to derive constraints on cosmological parameters and test the inflationary cold dark matter (CDM) scenario of structure formation. By treating the inflationary spectral index n as a free parameter, we are able to find successful fits to the COBE and Lyα forest constraints in Ωm = 1 models with and without massive neutrinos and in low-Ωm models with and without a cosmological constant. Within each class of model, the …


Simulations Of Damped Ly Alpha And Lyman Limit Absorbers In Different Cosmologies: Implications For Structure Formation At High Redshift, Jp Gardner, N Katz, L Hernquist, Dh Weinberg Jan 2001

Simulations Of Damped Ly Alpha And Lyman Limit Absorbers In Different Cosmologies: Implications For Structure Formation At High Redshift, Jp Gardner, N Katz, L Hernquist, Dh Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We use hydrodynamic cosmological simulations to study damped Lyα (DLA) and Lyman limit (LL) absorption at redshifts z = 2-4 in five variants of the cold dark matter scenario: COBE-normalized (CCDM), cluster-normalized (SCDM), and tilted (n = 0.8) Ωm = 1 models, as well as open (OCDM) and flat (LCDM) Ωm = 0.4 models. Our standard simulations resolve the formation of dense concentrations of neutral gas in halos with circular velocity vcvc,res 140 km s-1 for Ωm = 1 and 90 km s-1 for Ωm = 0.4, …


Baryons In The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium, R Dave, R Cen, Jp Ostriker, Gl Bryan, L Hernquist, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, Ml Norman, B O'Shea Jan 2001

Baryons In The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium, R Dave, R Cen, Jp Ostriker, Gl Bryan, L Hernquist, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, Ml Norman, B O'Shea

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Approximately 30%-40% of all baryons in the present-day universe reside in a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM), with temperatures in the range 105 < T < 107 K. This is a generic prediction from six hydrodynamic simulations of currently favored structure formation models having a wide variety of numerical methods, input physics, volumes, and spatial resolutions. Most of these warm-hot baryons reside in diffuse large-scale structures with a median overdensity around 10-30, not in virialized objects such as galaxy groups or galactic halos. The evolution of the WHIM is primarily driven by shock heating from gravitational perturbations breaking on mildly nonlinear, nonequilibrium …


Simulating The Effects Of Intergalactic Gray Dust, Rac Croft, R Dave, L Hernquist, N Katz Jan 2000

Simulating The Effects Of Intergalactic Gray Dust, Rac Croft, R Dave, L Hernquist, N Katz

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Using a high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, we present a method to constrain extinction due to intergalactic gray dust based on the observed magnitudes of distant Type Ia supernovae. We apply several simple prescriptions to relate the intergalactic dust density to the gas density in the simulation, thereby obtaining dust extinctions that may be directly compared with the observed distribution of supernova magnitudes. Our analysis is sensitive to the spatial distribution of gray dust but is not dependent on its intrinsic properties, such as its opacity or grain size. We present an application of our technique to the supernova data of …


Closing In On Omega(M): The Amplitude Of Mass Fluctuations From Galaxy Clusters And The Ly Alpha Forest, Dh Weinberg, Rac Croft, L Hernquist, N Katz, M Pettini Jan 1999

Closing In On Omega(M): The Amplitude Of Mass Fluctuations From Galaxy Clusters And The Ly Alpha Forest, Dh Weinberg, Rac Croft, L Hernquist, N Katz, M Pettini

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We estimate the present-day value of the matter density parameter ΩM by combining constraints from the galaxy cluster mass function with Croft et al.'s recent measurement of the mass power spectrum, P(k), from Lyα forest data. The key assumption of the method is that cosmic structure formed by gravitational instability from Gaussian primordial fluctuations. For a specified value of ΩM, matching the observed cluster mass function then fixes the value of σ8, the rms amplitude of mass fluctuations in 8 h-1 Mpc spheres, and it thus determines the normalization of P …


The Clustering Of High-Redshift Galaxies In The Cold Dark Matter Scenario, N Katz, L Hernquist, Dh Weinberg Jan 1999

The Clustering Of High-Redshift Galaxies In The Cold Dark Matter Scenario, N Katz, L Hernquist, Dh Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We investigate the clustering of high-redshift galaxies in five variants of the cold dark matter (CDM) scenario, using hydrodynamic cosmological simulations that resolve the formation of systems with circular velocities vc ≥ 100 km s-1 (Ω = 1) or vc ≥ 70 km s-1 (Ω = 0.4). Although the five models differ in their cosmological parameters and in the shapes and amplitudes of their mass power spectra, they predict remarkably similar galaxy clustering at z = 2, 3, and 4. The galaxy correlation functions show almost no evolution over this redshift range, even though the mass …


The Power Spectrum Of Mass Fluctuations Measured From The Ly Alpha Forest At Redshift Z=2.5, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, M Pettini, L Hernquist, N Katz Jan 1999

The Power Spectrum Of Mass Fluctuations Measured From The Ly Alpha Forest At Redshift Z=2.5, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, M Pettini, L Hernquist, N Katz

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We measure the linear power spectrum of mass-density fluctuations at redshift z = 2.5 from the Lyα forest absorption in a sample of 19 QSO spectra, using the method introduced by Croft et al. The P(k) measurement covers the range 2π/k ~ 450-2350 km s-1 (2-12 comoving h-1 Mpc for Ω = 1), limited on the upper end by uncertainty in fitting the unabsorbed QSO continuum and on the lower end by finite spectral resolution (0.8-2.3 Å FWHM) and by nonlinear dynamical effects. We examine a number of possible sources of systematic error and …


The Low-Redshift Ly Alpha Forest In Cold Dark Matter Cosmologies, R Dave, L Hernquist, N Katz, Dh Weinberg Jan 1999

The Low-Redshift Ly Alpha Forest In Cold Dark Matter Cosmologies, R Dave, L Hernquist, N Katz, Dh Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We study the physical origin of the low-redshift Lyα forest in hydrodynamic simulations of four cosmological models, all variants of the cold dark matter scenario. Our most important conclusions are insensitive to the cosmological model, but they depend on our assumption that the UV background declines at low redshift in concert with the declining population of quasar sources. We find that the expansion of the universe drives rapid evolution of dN/dz (the number of absorbers per unit redshift above a specified equivalent width threshold) at z1.7, but that at lower redshift the fading of the UV background …


Recovery Of The Power Spectrum Of Mass Fluctuations From Observations Of The Ly Alpha Forest, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, N Katz, L Hernquist Jan 1998

Recovery Of The Power Spectrum Of Mass Fluctuations From Observations Of The Ly Alpha Forest, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, N Katz, L Hernquist

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We present a method to recover the shape and amplitude of the power spectrum of mass fluctuations, P(k), from observations of the high-redshift Lyα forest. The method is motivated by the physical picture that has emerged from hydrodynamic cosmological simulations and related semianalytic models, in which typical Lyα forest lines arise in a diffuse, continuous, fluctuating intergalactic medium. The thermal state of this low-density gas (δρ/ρ 10) is governed by simple physical processes, which lead to a tight correlation between the Lyα optical depth and the underlying matter density. To recover the mass power spectrum, we (1) …


Cosmological Simulations With Scale-Free Initial Conditions. I. Adiabatic Hydrodynamics, Jm Owen, Dh Weinberg, Ae Evrard, L Hernquist, N Katz Jan 1998

Cosmological Simulations With Scale-Free Initial Conditions. I. Adiabatic Hydrodynamics, Jm Owen, Dh Weinberg, Ae Evrard, L Hernquist, N Katz

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We analyze hierarchical structure formation based on scale-free initial conditions in an Einstein-de Sitter universe, including a baryonic component with Ωbary = 0.05. We present three independent, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations, performed at two resolutions (323 and 643 dark matter and baryonic particles) and with two different SPH codes (TreeSPH and P3MSPH). Each simulation is based on identical initial conditions, which consist of Gaussian-distributed initial density fluctuations that have a power spectrum P(k) k-1. The baryonic material is modeled as an ideal gas subject only to shock heating and adiabatic heating …


Testing Cosmological Models Against The Abundance Of Damped Lyman-Alpha Absorbers, Jp Gardner, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, L Hernquist Jan 1997

Testing Cosmological Models Against The Abundance Of Damped Lyman-Alpha Absorbers, Jp Gardner, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, L Hernquist

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We calculate the number of damped Lyα absorbers expected in various popular cosmological models as a function of redshift and compare our predictions with observed abundances. The Press-Schechter formalism is used to obtain the distribution of halos with circular velocity in different cosmologies, and we calibrate the relation between circular velocity and absorption cross section using detailed gasdynamical simulations of a standard cold dark matter (CDM) model. Because of this calibration, our approach makes more realistic assumptions about the absorption properties of collapsed objects than previous, analytic calculations of the damped Lyα abundance. CDM models with Ω0 = 1, …