Asymptotic structure of cosmological fluid flows: a numerical study

Abstract

We consider an isothermal compressible fluid evolving on a cosmological background which may be either expanding or contracting toward the future. The Euler equations governing such a flow consist of two nonlinear hyperbolic balance laws which we treat in one and in two space dimensions. We design a finite volume scheme which is fourth-order accurate in time and second-order accurate in space. This scheme allows us to compute weak solutions containing shock waves and, by design, is well-balanced in the sense that it preserves exactly a special class of solutions. Using this scheme, we investigate the asymptotic structure of the fluid when the time variable approaches infinity (in the expanding regime) or approaches zero (in the contracting regime). We study these two limits by introducing a suitable rescaling of the density and velocity variables and, in turn, we analyze the effects induced by the geometric terms (of expanding or contracting nature) and the nonlinear interactions between shocks. Extensive numerical experiments in one and in two space dimensions are performed in order to support our observations.