Non-linear Power Spectrum Research Articles

N-body simulations for parametrized modified gravity

ABSTRACT We present MG-evolution, an N-body code simulating the cosmological structure formation for parametrized modifications of gravity. It is built from the combination of parametrized linear theory with a parametrization of the deeply non-linear cosmological regime extrapolated from modified spherical collapse computations that cover the range of known screening mechanisms. We test MG-evolution, which runs at the speed of conventional ΛCDM simulations, against a suit of existing exact model-specific codes, encompassing linearized and chameleon f(R) gravity as well as the normal branch of the Dvali–Gabadadz–Porrati braneworld model, hence covering both large-field value and large-derivative screening effects. We compare the non-linear power spectra produced by the parametrized and model-specific approaches over the full range of scales set by the box size and resolution of our simulations, k = (0.05 − 2.5) $h\, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, and for two redshift slices, z = 0 and z = 1. We find sub-percent to one-percent level recovery of all the power spectra generated with the model-specific codes for the full range of scales. MG-evolution can be used for generalized and accurate tests of gravity and dark energy with the increasing wealth of high-precision cosmological survey data becoming available over the next decade.

Modelling the large-scale mass density field of the universe as a function of cosmology and baryonic physics

ABSTRACT We present and test a framework that models the 3D distribution of mass in the universe as a function of cosmological and astrophysical parameters. Our approach combines two different techniques: a rescaling algorithm that modifies the cosmology of gravity-only N-body simulations, and a ‘baryonification’ algorithm that mimics the effects of astrophysical processes induced by baryons, such as star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback. We show how this approach can accurately reproduce the effects of baryons on the matter power spectrum of various state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations (EAGLE, Illustris, Illustris-TNG, Horizon-AGN, and OWLS, Cosmo-OWLS and BAHAMAS), to better than 1 per cent from very large down to small, highly non-linear, scales ($k\sim 5 \, h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$), and from z = 0 up to z ∼ 2. We highlight that, because of the heavy optimization of our algorithms, we can obtain these predictions for arbitrary baryonic models and cosmology (including massive neutrinos and dynamical dark energy models) with an almost negligible CPU cost. With these tools in hand, we explore the degeneracies between cosmological and astrophysical parameters in the non-linear mass power spectrum. Our findings suggest that after marginalizing over baryonic physics, cosmological constraints inferred from weak gravitational lensing should be moderately degraded.

Fast calculation of the nonlinear redshift-space galaxy power spectrum including selection bias

We present a fast implementation of the next-to-leading order (1-loop) redshift-space galaxy power spectrum by using FFTlog-based methods. [V. Desjacques, D. Jeong, and F. Schmidt, JCAP 1812 (12), 035] have shown that the 1-loop galaxy power spectrum in redshift space can be computed with 28 independent loop integrals with 22 bias parameters. Analytical calculation of the angular part of the loop integrals leaves the radial part in the form of a spherical Bessel transformation that is ready to be integrated numerically by using the FFTLog transformation. We find that the original 28 loop integrals can be solved with a total of 85 unique FFTLog transformations, yet leading to a few orders of magnitude speed up over traditional multi-dimensional integration. The code used in this work is publicly available at https://github.com/JosephTomlinson/GeneralBiasPk

Nonlinear wave-wave interactions in the brain

Neural field theory of the corticothalamic system is used to analyze nonlinear wave-wave interactions in steady state visual evoked potential responses. The nonlinear power spectrum is analytically calculated by convolving the linear power spectrum with itself and other factors. Periodic sine and square wave stimuli are used to generate steady state visual evoked potential responses and to study stimulus-driven nonlinear corticothalamic dynamic interactions. Moreover, we use dual sine drives to analyze the driven dynamics. Numerical analysis shows that the nonlinear power spectrum embodies key nonlinear features, including harmonic and subharmonic generation, entrainment of the alpha rhythm to periodic stimuli at the drive frequency, sum and difference frequencies due to wave-wave coalescence and decay. Further, the scaling properties of the key phenomena observed in nonlinear interactions are studied, verifying some of the theoretical predictions for these being generated by three-wave processes.

Fisher for complements: extracting cosmology and neutrino mass from the counts-in-cells PDF

ABSTRACT We comprehensively analyse the cosmology dependence of counts-in-cells statistics. We focus on the shape of the one-point probability distribution function (PDF) of the matter density field at mildly non-linear scales. Based on large-deviation statistics, we parametrize the cosmology dependence of the matter PDF in terms of the linear power spectrum, the growth factor, the spherical collapse dynamics, and the non-linear variance. We extend our formalism to include massive neutrinos, finding that the total matter PDF is highly sensitive to the total neutrino mass Mν and can disentangle it from the clustering amplitude σ8. Using more than a million PDFs extracted from the Quijote simulations, we determine the response of the matter PDF to changing parameters in the νΛCDM model and successfully cross-validate the theoretical model and the simulation measurements. We present the first νΛCDM Fisher forecast for the matter PDF at multiple scales and redshifts, and its combination with the matter power spectrum. We establish that the matter PDF and the matter power spectrum are highly complementary at mildly non-linear scales. The matter PDF is particularly powerful for constraining the matter density Ωm, clustering amplitude σ8 and the total neutrino mass Mν. Adding the mildly non-linear matter PDF to the mildly non-linear matter power spectrum improves constraints on Ωm by a factor of 5 and σ8 by a factor of 2 when considering the three lowest redshifts. In our joint analysis of the matter PDF and matter power spectrum at three redshifts, the total neutrino mass is constrained to better than 0.01 eV with a total volume of 6 (Gpc h−1)3. We discuss how density-split statistics can be used to translate those encouraging results for the matter PDF into realistic observables in galaxy surveys.

Modified initial power spectrum and too big to fail problem

ABSTRACT The galactic scale challenges of dark matter such as ‘missing satellite’ problem and ‘too big to fail’ problem are the main caveats of standard model of cosmology. These challenges could be solved either by implementing the complicated baryonic physics or it could be considered as an indication to a new physics beyond the standard model of cosmology. The modification of collisionless dark matter models or the standard initial conditions are two promising venues for study. In this work, we investigate the effects of the deviations from scale invariant initial curvature power spectrum on number density of dark matter haloes. We develop the non-Markov extension of the excursion set theory to calculate the number density of dark matter substructures and dark matter halo progenitor mass distribution. We show that the plausible solution to ‘too big to fail’ problem could be obtained by a Gaussian excess in initial power in the scales of k* ∼ 3 h Mpc−1 that is related to the mass scale of M* ∼ 1011 M⊙. We show that this deviation leads to the decrement of dark matter subhaloes in galactic scale, which is consistent with the current status of the non-linear power spectrum. Our proposal also has a prediction that the number density of Milky Way-type galaxies must be higher than the standard case.

Constraints on decaying dark matter from weak lensing and cluster counts

We revisit a cosmological constraint on dark matter decaying into dark radiation at late times. In Enqvist et al. (2015), we mainly focused on the effects of decaying dark matter (DDM) on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and nonlinear matter power spectrum. Extending our previous analysis, here we use N-body simulation to investigate how DDM affects the halo mass function. This allows us to incorporate the cluster counts observed by the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect to study a bound on the lifetime of DDM . We also update the data of CMB and cosmic shear power spectrum with the Planck 2015 results and KiDS450 observations, respectively. From these cosmological observations, we obtain an lower bound on the lifetime Γ−1⩾ 154 Gyr from the Planck2015 results (CMB+SZ cluster count) combined with the KiDS450 and the recent measurements of the baryon acoustic scale.

Plasmon enhanced second harmonic generation by periodic arrays of triangular nanoholes coupled to quantum emitters

Optical properties of periodic arrays of nanoholes of a triangular shape with experimentally realizable parameters are examined in both linear and nonlinear regimes. By utilizing a fully vectorial three-dimensional approach based on the nonlinear hydrodynamic Drude model describing metal coupled to Maxwell's equations and Bloch equations for molecular emitters, we analyze linear transmission, reflection, and nonlinear power spectra. Rigorous numerical calculations demonstrating second and third harmonic generation by the triangular hole arrays are performed. It is shown that both the Coulomb interaction of conduction electrons and the convective term contribute on equal footing to the nonlinear response of metal. It is demonstrated that the energy conversion efficiency in the second harmonic process is the highest when the system is pumped at the localized surface plasmon resonance. When molecular emitters are placed on a surface of the hole array line shapes, the second harmonic signal exhibits three peaks corresponding to second harmonics of the localized surface plasmon mode and upper and lower polaritonic states.

Fitting functions on the cheap: the relative nonlinear matter power spectrum

We propose an alternative approach to the construction of fitting functions to the nonlinear matter power spectrum extracted from N-body simulations based on the relative matter power spectrum δ(k,a), defined as the fractional deviation in the absolute matter power spectrum produced by a target cosmology away from a reference ΛCDM prediction. From the computational perspective, δ(k,a) is fairly insensitive to the specifics of the simulation settings, and numerical convergence at the 1%-level can be readily achieved without the need for huge computing capacity. Furthermore, with the wCDM class of models tested, δ(k,a) exhibits several interesting properties that enable a piece-wise construction of the full fitting function, whereby component fitting functions are sought for single-parameter variations and then multiplied together to form the final product. Then, to obtain 1%-accurate absolute power spectrum predictions for any target cosmology only requires that the community as a whole invests in producing one single ultra-precise reference ΛCDM absolute power spectrum, to be combined with the fitting function to produce the desired result. To illustrate the power of this approach, we have constructed the fitting function {\\scshape RelFit} using only five relatively inexpensive wCDM simulations (box length L=256 h−1 Mpc, N=10243 particles, initialised at zi=49). In a 6-parameter space spanning {ωm, As,ns,w,ωb, h}, the output relative power spectra of RELFIT are consistent with the predictions of the {\\scshape CosmicEmu} emulator to 1% or better for a wide range of cosmologies up to 0k ≃ 1/Mpc. Thus, our approach could provide an inexpensive and democratically accessible route to fulfilling the 1%-level accuracy demands of the upcoming generation of large-scale structure probes, especially in the exploration of “non-standard” or “exotic” cosmologies on nonlinear scales.

KiDS+VIKING-450 and DES-Y1 combined: Mitigating baryon feedback uncertainty with COSEBIs

We present cosmological constraints from a joint cosmic shear analysis of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KV450) and the Dark Energy Survey (DES-Y1), which were conducted using Complete Orthogonal Sets of E/B-Integrals (COSEBIs). With COSEBIs, we isolated any B-modes that have a non-cosmic shear origin and demonstrate the robustness of our cosmological E-mode analysis as no significant B-modes were detected. We highlight how COSEBIs are fairly insensitive to the amplitude of the non-linear matter power spectrum at high k-scales, mitigating the uncertain impact of baryon feedback in our analysis. COSEBIs, therefore, allowed us to utilise additional small-scale information, improving the DES-Y1 joint constraints on S8 = σ8(Ωm/0.3)0.5 and Ωm by 20%. By adopting a flat ΛCDM model we find S8 = 0.755−0.021+0.019, which is in 3.2σ tension with the Planck Legacy analysis of the cosmic microwave background.

Failures of Halofit model for computation of Fisher matrices: a response function analysis

ABSTRACT The response function of a linear system undergoing a non-linear transformation measures the sensitivity of the non-linear output with respect to the initial linear state. This concept can also be applied to the non-linear growth of structures in the Universe. In this paper, we study the response function for the Halofit model, we present its analytic structure and we compare its theoretical prediction with the one as measured from simulations. We find a major departure between the two. We argue that a consequence of unmatched response functions is an intrinsic theoretical limitation on Halofit to predict the derivatives of the non-linear power spectrum with respect to cosmological parameters, and hence a possible systematic effect on Fisher matrices based forecasts using Halofit. In particular, we use a simple cosmological model with two parameters (As, ns) to illustrate the impact of using Halofit for this kind of forecasts for a 1 h−3 Gpc3 volume survey. We report a maximum impact on the figure of merit of $20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$.

The bahamas project: effects of a running scalar spectral index on large-scale structure

ABSTRACT Recent analyses of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the Lyman α forest indicate a mild preference for a deviation from a power-law primordial matter power spectrum (a so-called running). We introduce an extension to the bahamas suite of simulations to explore the effects that a running scalar spectral index has on large-scale structure (LSS), using Planck CMB constraints to initialize the simulations. We focus on five key statistics: (i) the non-linear matter power spectrum (ii) the halo mass function; (iii) the halo two-point autocorrelation function; (iv) total mass halo density profiles; and (v) the halo concentration–mass relation. We find that the matter power spectrum in a Planck-constrained running cosmology is affected on all k-scales examined in this study. These effects on the matter power spectrum should be detectable with upcoming surveys such as LSST and Euclid. A positive running cosmology leads to an increase in the mass of galaxy groups and clusters, with the favoured negative running leading to a decrease in mass of lower mass ($M \lesssim 10^{13} \, \textrm{M}_{\odot }$) haloes, but an increase for the most massive ($M \gtrsim 10^{13} \, \textrm{M}_{\odot }$) haloes. Changes in the mass are generally confined to $5\rm {-}10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ which, while not insignificant, cannot by itself reconcile the claimed tension between the primary CMB and cluster number counts. We also demonstrate that the observed effects on LSS due to a running scalar spectral index are separable from those of baryonic effects to typically a few per cent precision.

Non-linear matter power spectrum without screening dynamics modelling in f(R) gravity

ABSTRACT Halo model is a physically intuitive method for modelling the non-linear power spectrum, especially for the alternatives to the standard ΛCDM models. In this paper, we examine the Sheth–Tormen barrier formula adopted in the previous CHAM method. As an example, we model the ellipsoidal collapse of top-hat dark matter haloes in f(R) gravity. A good agreement between Sheth–Tormen formula and our result is achieved. The relative difference in the ellipsoidal collapse barrier is less than or equal to $1.6{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Furthermore, we verify that, for F4 and F5 cases of Hu–Sawicki f(R) gravity, the screening mechanism does not play a crucial role in the non-linear power spectrum modelling up to k ∼ 1 h Mpc−1. We compare two versions of modified gravity modelling, namely with/without screening. We find that by treating the effective Newton constant as constant number, Geff = 4/3GN is acceptable. The scale dependence of the gravitational coupling is subrelevant. The resulting spectra in F4 and F5, are in $0.1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ agreement with the previous CHAM results. The published code is accelerated significantly. Finally, we compare our halo model prediction with N-body simulation. We find that the general spectrum profile agrees, qualitatively. However, via the halo model approach, there exists a systematic underestimation of the matter power spectrum in the comoving wavenumber range between 0.3 and 3 h Mpc−1. These scales are overlapping with the transition scales from two-halo term dominated regimes to those of one-halo term dominated regimes.

Emulators for the nonlinear matter power spectrum beyond ΛCDM

Accurate predictions for the non-linear matter power spectrum are needed to confront theory with observations in current and near future weak lensing and galaxy clustering surveys. We propose a computationally cheap method to create an emulator for modified gravity models by utilizing existing emulators for $\Lambda$CDM. Using a suite of $N$-body simulations we construct a fitting function for the enhancement of both the linear and non-linear matter power spectrum in the commonly studied Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$ gravity model valid for wave-numbers $k \lesssim 5-10\, h\text{Mpc}^{-1}$ and redshifts $z \lesssim 3$. We show that the cosmology dependence of this enhancement is relatively weak so that our fit, using simulations coming from only one cosmology, can be used to get accurate predictions for other cosmological parameters. We also show that the cosmology dependence can, if needed, be included by using linear theory, approximate $N$-body simulations (such as COLA) and semi-analytical tools like the halo model. Our final fit can easily be combined with any emulator or semi-analytical models for the non-linear $\Lambda$CDM power spectrum to accurately, and quickly, produce a non-linear power spectrum for this particular modified gravity model. The method we use can be applied to fairly cheaply construct an emulator for other modified gravity models. As an application of our fitting formula we use it to compute Fisher-forecasts for how well galaxy clustering and weak lensing in a Euclid-like survey will be at constraining modifications of gravity.

Measuring neutrino masses with large-scale structure: Euclid forecast with controlled theoretical error

We present a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) forecast for the precision of neutrino mass and cosmological parameter measurements with a Euclid-like galaxy clustering survey. We use a complete perturbation theory model for the galaxy one-loop power spectrum and tree-level bispectrum, which includes bias, redshift space distortions, IR resummation for baryon acoustic oscillations and UV counterterms. The latter encapsulate various effects of short-scale dynamics which cannot be modeled within perturbation theory. Our MCMC procedure consistently computes the non-linear power spectra and bispectra as we scan over different cosmologies. The second ingredient of our approach is the theoretical error covariance which captures uncertainties due to higher-order non-linear corrections omitted in our model. Having specified characteristics of a Euclid-like spectroscopic survey, we generate and fit mock galaxy power spectrum and bispectrum likelihoods. Our results suggest that even under very agnostic assumptions about non-linearities and short-scale physics a future Euclid-like survey will be able to measure the sum of neutrino masses with a standard deviation of 28 meV . When combined with the Planck cosmic microwave background likelihood, this uncertainty decreases to 13 meV . Over-optimistically reducing the theoretical error on the bispectrum down to the two-loop level marginally tightens this bound to 11 meV . Moreover, we show that the future large-scale structure (LSS) spectroscopic data will greatly improve constraints on the other cosmological parameters, e.g. reaching a percent (per mille) error on the Hubble constant with LSS alone (LSS + Planck).

KiDS + GAMA: constraints on horndeski gravity from combined large-scale structure probes

ABSTRACT We present constraints on Horndeski gravity from a combined analysis of cosmic shear, galaxy–galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering from $450\, \mathrm{deg}^2$ of the Kilo-Degree Survey and the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey.The Horndeski class of dark energy/modified gravity models includes the majority of universally coupled extensions to ΛCDM with one scalar field in addition to the metric. We study the functions of time that fully describe the evolution of linear perturbations in Horndeski gravity. Our results are compatible throughout with a ΛCDM model. By imposing gravitational wave constraints, we fix the tensor speed excess to zero and consider a subset of models including, e.g. quintessence and f(R) theories. Assuming proportionality of the Horndeski functions αB and αM (kinetic braiding and the Planck mass run rate, respectively) to the dark energy density fraction ΩDE(a) = 1 − Ωm(a), we find for the proportionality coefficients $\hat{\alpha }_\mathrm{ B} = 0.20_{-0.33}^{+0.20} \,$ and $\, \hat{\alpha }_\mathrm{ M} = 0.25_{-0.29}^{+0.19}$. Our value of $S_8 \equiv \sigma _8 \sqrt{\Omega _{\mathrm{m}}/0.3}$ is in better agreement with the Planck estimate when measured in the enlarged Horndeski parameter space than in a pure ΛCDM scenario. In our joint three-probe analysis, we report a downward shift of the S8 best-fitting value from the Planck measurement of $\Delta S_8 = 0.016_{-0.046}^{+0.048}$ in Horndeski gravity, compared to $\Delta S_8 = 0.059_{-0.039}^{+0.040}$ in ΛCDM. Our constraints are robust to the modelling uncertainty of the non-linear matter power spectrum in Horndeski gravity. Our likelihood code for multiprobe analysis in both ΛCDM and Horndeski gravity is publicly available at https://github.com/alessiospuriomancini/KiDSHorndeski.

Cosmic Structure Formation with Kinetic Field Theory

AbstractKinetic field theory (KFT) is a statistical field theory for an ensemble of classical point particles in or out of equilibrium. Its application to cosmological structure formation is reviewed. Beginning with the construction of a generating functional, it is described in detail how the theory needs to be adapted to an expanding spatial background and the homogeneous and isotropic, correlated initial conditions for cosmic structures. Based on the generating functional, three approaches are developed to nonlinear cosmic structures, which rest either on expanding an interaction operator, averaging the interaction term, or resumming perturbation terms. An analytic, parameter‐free equation for the nonlinear cosmic power spectrum is presented. It is explained how density profiles of bound structures and velocity power spectra can be derived from the theory. It is clarified how KFT relates to the BBGKY hierarchy. Kinetic field theory is then applied to fluids, reformulating KFT in terms of macroscopic quantities. The resulting resummation scheme is used to describe mixtures of gas and dark matter. Finally, it is discussed how KFT can be combined with modified theories of gravity. As an example for a noncosmological application, results are shown on the spatial correlation function of cold Rydberg atoms derived from KFT.

On the road to per cent accuracy – II. Calibration of the non-linear matter power spectrum for arbitrary cosmologies

ABSTRACT We introduce an emulator approach to predict the non-linear matter power spectrum for broad classes of beyond-ΛCDM cosmologies, using only a suite of ΛCDM N-body simulations. By including a range of suitably modified initial conditions in the simulations, and rescaling the resulting emulator predictions with analytical ‘halo model reactions’, accurate non-linear matter power spectra for general extensions to the standard ΛCDM model can be calculated. We optimize the emulator design by substituting the simulation suite with non-linear predictions from the standard halofit tool. We review the performance of the emulator for artificially generated departures from the standard cosmology as well as for theoretically motivated models, such as f(R) gravity and massive neutrinos. For the majority of cosmologies we have tested, the emulator can reproduce the matter power spectrum with errors ${\lesssim}1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ deep into the highly non-linear regime. This work demonstrates that with a well-designed suite of ΛCDM simulations, extensions to the standard cosmological model can be tested in the non-linear regime without any reliance on expensive beyond-ΛCDM simulations.

Separate Universe simulations with IllustrisTNG: baryonic effects on power spectrum responses and higher-order statistics

Abstract We measure power spectrum response functions in the presence of baryonic physical processes using separate universe simulations with the IllustrisTNG galaxy formation model. The response functions describe how the small-scale power spectrum reacts to long-wavelength perturbations and they can be efficiently measured with the separate universe technique by absorbing the effects of the long modes into a modified cosmology. Specifically, we focus on the total first-order matter power spectrum response to an isotropic density fluctuation R1(k, z), which is fully determined by the logarithmic derivative of the non-linear matter power spectrum dlnPm(k, z)/dlnk and the growth-only response function G1(k, z). We find that G1(k, z) is not affected by the baryonic physical processes in the simulations at redshifts z < 3 and on all scales probed (k ≲ 15 h Mpc−1; i.e. length scales $\gtrsim 0.4\, {\rm Mpc}\,h^{-1}$). In practice, this implies that the power spectrum fully specifies the baryonic dependence of its response function. Assuming an idealized lensing survey set-up, we evaluate numerically the baryonic impact on the squeezed-lensing bispectrum and the lensing supersample power spectrum covariance, which are given in terms of responses. Our results show that these higher-order lensing statistics can display varying levels of sensitivity to baryonic effects compared to the power spectrum, with the squeezed bispectrum being the least sensitive. We also show that ignoring baryonic effects on lensing covariances slightly overestimates the error budget (and is therefore conservative from the point of view of parameter error bars) and likely has negligible impact on parameter biases in inference analyses.

On the road to percent accuracy: non-linear reaction of the matter power spectrum to dark energy and modified gravity

ABSTRACT We present a general method to compute the non-linear matter power spectrum for dark energy (DE) and modified gravity scenarios with per cent-level accuracy. By adopting the halo model and non-linear perturbation theory, we predict the reaction of a lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) matter power spectrum to the physics of an extended cosmological parameter space. By comparing our predictions to N-body simulations we demonstrate that with no-free parameters we can recover the non-linear matter power spectrum for a wide range of different w0–wa DE models to better than 1 per cent accuracy out to k ≈ 1 $h \,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. We obtain a similar performance for both DGP and f(R) gravity, with the non-linear matter power spectrum predicted to better than 3 per cent accuracy over the same range of scales. When including direct measurements of the halo mass function from the simulations, this accuracy improves to 1 per cent. With a single suite of standard ΛCDM N-body simulations, our methodology provides a direct route to constrain a wide range of non-standard extensions to the concordance cosmology in the high signal-to-noise non-linear regime.