Void statistics, scaling, and the origins of large-scale structure

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (74) References (68) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Void Statistics, Scaling, and the Origins of Large-Scale Structure Fry, J. N. ; Giovanelli, Riccardo ; Haynes, Martha P. ; Melott, Adrian L. ; Scherrer, Robert J. Abstract A long-standing goal in the study of large-scale structure has been to discriminate reliably between various pictures of the origins of cosmological structure by objective statistical tests applied to the present state of the universe. One measure that we find to be particularly informative is the probability that a volume of given size and shape placed at random be void of galaxies. In so-called hierarchical universes, this void probability obeys a scaling relation in properly chosen variables. With such a scaling, we can obtain results that are not sensitive to artificial choices such as cutoff magnitude or sampling efficiency in the observations, or to the precise amount of dynamical evolution or the resolution of numerical simulations. We apply this probe to the observed galaxy distribution and to numerical simulations of hot-particle and cold-particle modulated inflationary models, with and without biasing isothermal or initially Poisson models, and models where structure is seeded by loops of cosmic string. In the Pisces-Perseus redshift compilation of Giovanelli and Haynes, we find that the hierarchical scaling is indeed obeyed for subsamples constructed with different limiting magnitudes and subsamples taken at random. This result confirms that the hierarchical Ansatz holds valid to high order, and supports the picture that structure in the observed universe evolves by a regular process from an almost Gaussian primordial state. The simulation results obey the implied hierarchical scaling in many cases, but not in all. In particular, neutrino models without biasing show the effect of a strong feature in the initial power spectrum. Cosmic string models exhibit scaling but do not agree well with the galaxy data. Comparison of the numerical results with observations suggests that the initial fluctuation spectrum has a behavior closest to that in cold dark matter models, or perhaps Poisson. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: May 1989 DOI: 10.1086/167372 Bibcode: 1989ApJ...340...11F Keywords: Astronomical Models; Computational Astrophysics; Galactic Clusters; Statistical Analysis; Dark Matter; Red Shift; Scaling Laws; Spatial Distribution; Astrophysics; COSMOLOGY; GALAXIES: CLUSTERING full text sources ADS |