Number Density Profiles Research Articles

Reconstruction of Mars 2020 Backshell Radiative Heating via Infrared Emission Spectroscopy of CO2/N2/Ar Shockwaves

A test series was performed in the Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) facility with the aim of reproducing flight conditions encountered during the Mars 2020 mission entry into the Mars atmosphere. For this test series, the EAST facility was instrumented with two spectrometers for optical emission spectroscopy (OES) measurements and three mid-infrared lasers for tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). This paper focuses on the spectrally and spatially resolved radiance measured with OES. Conditions were chosen to achieve similarity to backshell radiative heating measured with the MEDLI2 heat flux gauges near and after the time of peak heating. Comparisons were made against two candidate kinetic models for Mars entry. Below 2.7 km/s, the chemistry is effectively frozen, with measurements being above both models and CEA predictions. It is shown that taking into account shock deceleration in the tube explains most of the discrepancy between measured and frozen radiance. For velocities above 2.7 km/s, the data lies between the two models. However, adjusting for shock deceleration indicates that one of the models may be preferred for predicting CO2 dissociation. Finally, comparisons between OES and TDLAS data are made and show a good agreement on the measured temperature and CO2 number density profiles, typically within 10 and 5%, respectively. A good agreement is also observed for the radiance that would be inferred based upon the quantities measured by TDLAS.

The FLAMINGO simulation view of cluster progenitors observed in the epoch of reionization with JWST

ABSTRACT Motivated by the recent JWST discovery of galaxy overdensities during the Epoch of Reionzation, we examine the physical properties of high-z protoclusters and their evolution using the Full-hydro Large-scale structure simulations with All-sky Mapping for the Interpretation of Next Generation Observations (FLAMINGO) simulation suite. We investigate the impact of the apertures used to define protoclusters, because the heterogeneous apertures used in the literature have limited our understanding of the population. Our results are insensitive to the uncertainties of the subgrid models at a given resolution, whereas further investigation into the dependence on numerical resolution is needed. When considering galaxies more massive than $M_\ast \, {\simeq }\, 10^8\, {\rm M_\odot }$, the FLAMINGO simulations predict a dominant contribution from progenitors similar to those of the Coma cluster to the cosmic star formation rate density during the reionization epoch. Our results indicate the onset of suppression of star formation in the protocluster environments as early as $z\, {\simeq }\, 5$. The galaxy number density profiles are similar to NFW (Navarro–Frenk–White profile) at $z\, {\lesssim }\, 1$ while showing a steeper slope at earlier times before the formation of the core. Different from most previous simulations, the predicted star formation history for individual protoclusters is in good agreement with observations. We demonstrate that, depending on the aperture, the integrated physical properties including the total (dark matter and baryonic) mass can be biased by a factor of 2 to 5 at $z\, {=}\, 5.5$–7, and by an order of magnitude at $z\, {\lesssim }\, 4$. This correction suffices to remove the ${\simeq }\, 3\, \sigma$ tensions with the number density of structures found in recent JWST observations.

The boundary of cosmic filaments

ABSTRACT For decades, the boundary of cosmic filaments has been a subject of debate. In this work, we determine the physically motivated radii of filaments by constructing stacked galaxy number density profiles around the filament spines. We find that the slope of the profile changes with distance to the filament spine, reaching its minimum at approximately 1 Mpc at $z=0$ in both state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations and observational data. This can be taken as the average value of the filament radius. Furthermore, we note that the average filament radius rapidly decreases from $z=4$ to 1, and then slightly increases. Moreover, we find that the radius of the filament depends on the length of the filament, the distance from the connected clusters, and the masses of the clusters. These results suggest a two-phase formation scenario of cosmic filaments. The filaments experienced rapid contraction before $z=1$, but their density distribution has remained roughly stable since then. The subsequent mass transport along the filaments to the connected clusters is likely to have contributed to the formation of the clusters themselves.

Dynamic and interfacial properties for dichloromethane absorption in ionic liquids: Experimental and molecular dynamic insights

In this study, a strategy for dichloromethane (DCM) capture using ionic liquids (ILs) was systematically investigated from the perspective of dynamic analysis. The diffusion coefficient, Henry’s law constant (H), saturated absorption capacity, and overall volumetric liquid-side mass-transfer coefficient (KLao) of four types of ILs were obtained. Among all the ILs studied, tetrabutylphosphonium caproate ([P4444][C5COO]) demonstrated superior DCM absorption capabilities, and its corresponding H value (3.13 Pa m3/mol at 25 °C) was markedly lower than those of solvents documented in the literature. Furthermore, its KLao value was determined to be 2.77 × 10−3/s at 25 °C, which was measured in a customized cylindrical absorption bottle with a height of 150 mm and an inner diameter of 16 mm. The absorption bottle, fitted with a gas inlet tube having an inner diameter of 5 mm and positioned 5 mm above its base, utilized a simple bubbling technique to introduce gas into the liquid phase, eliminating the need for gas-dispersion equipment. Nevertheless, ILs with high affinities showed relatively high initial mass-transfer rates for DCM. Based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the vapor–liquid interface properties, including mass and number density profiles, molecular orientation, and surface tension, were investigated. This revealed that in the pure [P4444][C5COO] system, the alkyl chain of the anion was oriented toward the gas phase, while the carboxyl group was oriented toward the bulk. The tilt angle of [C5COO]− with respect to the interface was within the range of 37° < θ′ < 70°. For the [P4444][C5COO]/DCM mixture, at the interface, the anion exhibits an enhanced ordered orientation, while the cation shows a more disordered orientation.

Stratospheric aerosol characteristics from SCIAMACHY limb observations: two-parameter retrieval

Abstract. Stratospheric aerosols play a key role in atmospheric chemistry and climate. Their particle size is a crucial factor controlling the microphysical, radiative, and chemical aerosol processes in the stratosphere. Despite its importance, available observations on aerosol particle size are rather sparse. This limits our understanding and knowledge about the mechanisms and importance of chemical and climate aerosol feedbacks. The retrieval described by Malinina et al. (2018) provides the stratospheric particle size distribution (PSD) from SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY) limb observations in the tropics. This algorithm has now been improved and extended to work on the entire globe. Two PSD parameters of a unimodal lognormal PSD, the median radius and the geometric standard deviation, are retrieved between 18 and 35 km altitude from SCIAMACHY limb observations by a multiwavelength nonlinear regularized inversion. The approach assumes an aerosol particle number density profile that does not change during the retrieval. The effective Lambertian surface albedo pre-retrieved from coinciding SCIAMACHY nadir observations is integrated into the retrieval algorithm to mitigate the influence of the surface albedo on the retrieval results. The extinction coefficient and the effective radius are calculated from the PSD parameters. The aerosol characteristics from SCIAMACHY are compared with in situ balloon-borne measurements from Laramie, Wyoming, and retrievals from the satellite instruments of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment series (SAGE II and SAGE III) and Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS). In the Northern Hemisphere, the median radius differs by less than 27 % and the geometric standard deviation by less than 11 % from both balloon-borne and SAGE III data. Differences are mainly attributed to errors in the assumed a priori number density profile. Globally, the SCIAMACHY extinction coefficient at 750 nm deviates by less than 35 % from SAGE II, SAGE III, and OSIRIS data. The effective radii from SCIAMACHY, balloon-borne measurements, and SAGE III agree within about 18 %, while the effective radius based on SAGE II measurements is systematically larger. The novel data set containing the PSD parameters, the effective radius, and the aerosol extinction coefficients at 525, 750, and 1020 nm from SCIAMACHY observations is publicly available.

Effects of negative ions on equilibrium solar plasmas in the fabric of gravito-electrostatic sheath model

The gravito-electrostatic sheath (GES) model, exploring the solar wind plasma (SWP) origin from the solar interior plasma (SIP) via the solar surface boundary (SSB), is revaluated by including realistic negative ionic species. A constructive numerical analysis of the structuring equations shows that the SIP volume shrinks with an increase in the negative ion concentration. This shrinking nature is independent of ion mass and plasma temperature. The electric potential is insensitive to the negative ion concentration, mass, and plasma temperature. The solar plasma flow dynamics is studied with the Mach number and current density profiles. The sonic transition of the SWP depends on the Ti/Te-ratio. The current density responds to the negative ion density and Ti/Te−ratio in both the SIP and SWP. A deviation from the local quasi-neutrality state is observed in the SIP. The GES model equations result in a modified GES-Bohm sheath criterion in a well justifiable and validated form. The obtained results are then compared with the various observed outcomes and previous GES-based predictions. The relevance of this multi-parametric solar plasma analysis is lastly emphasized on the basis of the current solar research progressions.

Ternary Solid Polymer Electrolytes at the Electrochemical Interface: A Computational Study.

Polymer-based solid-like gel electrolytes have emerged as a promising alternative to improve battery performance. However, there is a scarcity of studies on the behavior of these media at the electrochemical interface. In this work, we report classical MD simulations of ternary polymer electrolytes composed of poly(ethylene oxide), a lithium salt [lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide], and different ionic liquids [1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide] confined between two charged and uncharged graphene-like surfaces. The molecular solvation of Li+ ions and their diffusion as well as the polymer conformational picture were characterized in terms of the radial distribution functions, coordination numbers, number density profiles, orientations, displacement variance, polymer radius of gyration, and polymer end-to-end distance. Our results show that the layering behavior of the ternary electrolyte in the interfacial region leads to a decrease of Li+ mobility in the direction perpendicular to the electrodes and high energy barriers that hinder lithium cations from coming into direct contact with the graphene-like surface. The nature of the ionic liquid and its concentration were found to influence the structural and dynamic properties at the electrode/electrolyte interface, the electrolyte with low amounts of the pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid being that with the best performance since it favors the migration of Li+ cations toward the negative electrode when compared to the imidazolium-based one.

What is the best simulation approach for measuring local density fluctuations near solvo-/hydrophobes?

Measurements of local density fluctuations are crucial to characterizing the interfacial properties of equilibrium fluids. A specific case that has been well-explored involves the heightened compressibility of water near hydrophobic entities. Commonly, a spatial profile of local fluctuation strength is constructed from the measurements of the mean and variance of solvent particle number fluctuations in a set of contiguous subvolumes of the system adjacent to the solvo-/hydrophobe. An alternative measure proposed by Evans and Stewart [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27, 194111 (2015)] defines a local compressibility profile in terms of the chemical potential derivative of the spatial number density profile. Using Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation, we compare and contrast the efficacy of these two approaches for a Lennard-Jones solvent at spherical and planar solvophobic interfaces and SPC/E water at a hydrophobic spherical solute. Our principal findings are as follows: (i) the local compressibility profile χ(r) of Evans and Stewart is considerably more sensitive to variations in the strength of local density fluctuations than the spatial fluctuation profile F(r) and can resolve much more detailed structure; and (ii) while the local compressibility profile is essentially independent of the choice of spatial discretization used to construct the profile, the spatial fluctuation profile exhibits a strong systematic dependence on the size of the subvolumes on which the profile is defined. We clarify the origin and nature of this finite-size effect.

How time weathers galaxies: The temporal impact of the cluster environment on galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract We illuminate the altered evolution of galaxies in clusters compared to central galaxies by tracking galaxies in the IllustrisTNG300 simulation as they enter isolated clusters of mass 1013 &amp;lt; M200, mean/M⊙ &amp;lt; 1015 (at z = 0). We demonstrate significant trends in galaxy properties with residence time (time since first infall) and that there is a population of galaxies that remain star-forming even many Gyrs after their infall. By comparing the properties of galaxies at their infall time to their properties at z = 0, we show how scaling relations, like the stellar-to-halo mass ratio, shift as galaxies live in the cluster environment. Galaxies with a residence time of 10 Gyr increase their stellar-to-halo mass ratio, by around 1 dex. As measurements of the steepest slope of the galaxy cluster number density profile (Rst), frequently used as a proxy for the splashback radius, have been shown to depend strongly on galaxy selection, we show how Rst depends on galaxy residence time. Using galaxies with residence times less than one cluster crossing time (≈5 Gyr) to measure Rst leads to significant offsets relative to using the entire galaxy population. Galaxies must have had the opportunity to ‘splash back’ to the first caustic to trace out a representative value of Rst, potentially leading to issues for galaxy surveys using UV-selected galaxies. Our work demonstrates that the evolution of cluster galaxies continues well into their lifetime in the cluster and departs from a typical central galaxy evolutionary path.

Spatially resolved TALIF investigation of atomic oxygen in the effluent of a CO2 microwave discharge

A diagnostic setup for one-dimensionally spatially resolved two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF) detection of ground state oxygen atoms ( 2p43P2,1,0 ) is developed. The goal of this study is to investigate the evolution of temperatures and absolute number densities of oxygen atoms along the effluent of a low-pressure CO2 microwave discharge in order to gain insights into some of the mechanisms governing the post-discharge regime. The plasma source is operated at conditions of 600 W– 1200 W of absorbed power with flow rates of 74 sccm and 370 sccm pure CO2 at pressures between 1.2 mbar and 5 mbar with specific energy inputs up to 111.9 eV/molecule. These operating conditions exhibit high CO2 conversions (up to 90%) at low energy efficiencies (2%–7.4%), due to direct electron impact dissociation driving the conversion process resulting in splitting of CO2 into CO and metastable oxygen atoms. The TALIF measurements yield spatially resolved translational temperatures between 1000 K– 1600 K for most operating conditions and axial positions along the effluent. Reference measurements with xenon 6p′[3/2]2 are used for absolute number density calibration. The resulting axially resolved number density profiles of ground state atomic oxygen increase along the effluent, even at considerable distances of several centimeters from the active discharge, before they reach a maximum between 5×1020 m−3 and 2.2×1021 m−3 depending on the condition, and decrease after that. This behavior indicates the potential significance of quenching of metastable oxygen atoms within the post-discharge regime of the investigated CO2 discharges. The measured spatially resolved number density evolutions are qualitatively consistent with quenching via wall collisions being the dominant deactivation mechanism, underlining the importance of particle-wall interactions.

Retrieval of Ar, N2, O, and CO in the Martian Thermosphere Using Dayglow Limb Observations by EMM EMUS

AbstractThe Emirates Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) onboard the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) Hope probe images Mars at wavelengths extending from approximately 100 to 170 nm. EMUS observations began in February 2021 and cover over a full Mars year. We report the first limb scan observations at Mars of ultraviolet emissions Ar I 106.6 nm, N I 120 nm, and carbon monoxide (CO) Fourth Positive Group (A − X) band system excited by electron impact on CO. We use EMUS limb scan observations to retrieve number density profiles of argon, molecular nitrogen, atomic oxygen, and CO in the upper atmosphere of Mars from 130 to 160 km. CO is a sensitive tracer of the thermal profile and winds in Mars' middle atmosphere and the chemistry that balances CO2 in the atmosphere of Mars. EMUS insertion orbit special observations demonstrate that far ultraviolet limb measurements of the Martian thermosphere can be spectroscopically analyzed with a robust retrieval algorithm to further quantify variations of CO composition in the Martian upper atmosphere.

ALPACA: a new semi-analytical model for metal absorption lines emerging from clumpy galactic environments

ABSTRACT We present a new semi-analytical formalism for modelling metal absorption lines that emerge from a clumpy galactic environment, ALPACA. We predict the “down-the-barrel” (DTB) metal absorption line profiles and the equivalent width (EW) of absorption at different impact parameters (b) as a function of the clump properties, including clump kinematics, clump volume filling factor, clump number density profile, and clump ion column densities. With ALPACA, we jointly model the stacked DTB C ii λ1334 spectrum of a sample of z ∼ 3 Lyman break galaxies and the EW versus b profile of a sample of z ∼ 2 star-forming galaxy–galaxy pairs. ALPACA successfully reproduced two data sets simultaneously, and the best fit prefers a low clump volume filling factor (∼3 × 10−3). The radial velocities of the clumps are a superposition of a rapidly accelerated outflow with a maximum velocity of $\sim 400 \, {\mathrm{km}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}}$ and a velocity dispersion of $\sigma \sim 120 \, {\mathrm{km}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}}$. The joint modelling reveals a physical scenario where the absorption observed at a particular velocity is contributed by the clumps distributed over a fairly broad range of radii. We also find that the commonly adopted Sobolev approximation is at best only applicable within a narrow range of radii where the clumps are undergoing rapid acceleration in a non-volume-filling clumpy medium. Lastly, we find that the clump radial velocity profile may not be fully constrained by the joint modelling and spatially resolved Ly α emission modelling may help break the degeneracy.

Investigating the Nature of Plasma Oscillations in Cold Plasma

Plasma oscillations are one of the important phenomena in plasma. The research in the field of plasma oscillation has a long history for more than six decades. The cold plasma is one in which electron temperature is very large but the neutral atoms are at room temperature. This study aims to obtain electron number density, electric field and velocity profile in cold plasma. Analytical method has been used to conduct this study. Fluid equations were solved to get the solution for number density, electric field and velocity of electron. To get the solution, first fluid equations are transferred to Lagrangian co-ordinates, where equations become linear and expression for respective parameter was obtained. A sinusoidal perturbation was taken as an initial condition and solution for number density; electric field and velocity were obtained. Value of perturbation was varied and corresponding waveforms were achieved and analyzed. As the perturbation increases the wave amplitude also increased. It is found that as the perturbation value is there is wave breaking in number density profile. Unlike in the number density, no such wave breaking is obtained for electric field and velocity profile. However the amplitude of waveform of electric field and velocity profile found to increases with increase in perturbation level.

Thermal Transpiration Flow: Molecular Dynamics Study from Dense to Dilute Gas

Thermal transpiration flow, a flow from cold to hot, driven by a temperature gradient along a wall under a high Knudsen number condition, was studied using the molecular dynamics method with a two-dimensional channel consisting of infinite parallel plates with nanoscale clearance based on our previous study. To accelerate the numerical analysis, a dense gas was employed in our previous study. In this study, the influence of the number density of gas was investigated by varying the height of the channel while keeping the number of molecules to achieve the flow ranging from dense to dilute gas while maintaining a constant Knudsen number. From the flow velocity profile compared to the number density profile, the thermal transpiration flow was observed for all number density conditions from dense to dilute gas. A similar flow structure was exhibited regardless of the number density. Thus, the numerical analysis in a dense gas condition is considered to be valid and useful for analyzing the thermal transpiration flow.

Variation of Surface Propensity of Halides with Droplet Size and Temperature: The Planar Interface Limit.

The radial number density profiles of halide and alkali ions in aqueous clusters with equimolar radius ≲1.4 nm, which correspond to ≲255 H2O molecules, have been extensively studied by computations. However, the surface abundance of Cl-, Br-, and I- relative to the bulk interior in these smaller clusters may not be representative of the larger systems. Indeed, here we show that the larger the cluster is, the lower the relative surface abundance of chaotropic halides is. In droplets with an equimolar radius of ≈2.45 nm, which corresponds to ≈2000 H2O molecules, the polarizable halides show a clear number density maximum in the droplet's bulk-like interior. A similar pattern is observed in simulations of the aqueous planar interface with halide salts at room temperature. At elevated temperature the surface propensity of Cl- decreases gradually, while that of I- is partially preserved. The change in the chaotropic halide location at higher temperatures than the room temperature may considerably affect photochemical reactivity in atmospheric aerosols, vapor-liquid nucleation and growth mechanisms, and salt crystallization via solvent evaporation. We argue that the commonly used approach of nullifying parameters in a force field in order to find the factors that determine the ion location does not provide transferable insight into other force fields.

Surface Functionalization of Activated Carbon Cloth for Wastewater Perchlorate Adsorption-Integrated Molecular Modeling and Experimental Energy Analysis

Perchlorate (ClO4-) in drinking water is one of the most serious issues relating to drinking water contamination. This work reports both the experimental and computational investigation of wastewater perchlorate adsorption on surfactant-modified activated carbon cloth (ACC) in order to design an efficient water treatment system. Three different types of cationic surfactants including tetramethylammonium (TMA), benzyltrimethylammonium (BTMA), and dodecyltrimethylammonium (DDTMA) were employed in this study, and the ClO4- adsorption capacity of various adsorbents was determined in batch experiments for 24 hours. Among all, DDTMA-ACC exhibits the highest ClO4- adsorption capacity (4.5 times that of pristine ACC), the highest monolayer coverage capacity ( Γ max ) value (0.59 mmol/g), an equilibrium adsorption constant ( K L ) value (35.90 L/mmol), and the lowest Δ G ads value (-26.0 KJ/mol), revealing that ClO4- has a stronger affinity for ACC functionalized by DDTMA than ACC functionalized by other surfactants. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were also conducted to illustrate the interactions among ClO4-, surfactants, and a model graphite surface underwater environment. The relative number density profiles and cumulative number studies demonstrate that TMA/BTMA tends to form single-layered packing near the graphite surface, while DDTMA prefers to pack in a multilayered fashion. The dense packing behavior of DDTMA on the graphite surface can enhance the ClO4- adsorption, showing good agreement with experimental results.

Bimodal aerosol distribution in Venus' upper haze from joint SPICAV-UV and -IR observations on Venus Express

Spectroscopic solar occultation measurements by the Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Venus/Solar Occultation at Infrared instrument (SPICAV/SOIR) onboard the Venus Express orbiter gave new data about upper haze aerosol properties, its vertical distribution and spatial and temporal variations. Early study with three channels of SPICAV/SOIR instrument using a few selected orbits indicated presence of two aerosol modes in particle size distribution (Wilquet et al., 2009). Analysis of aerosol properties from the SPICAV−IR spectrometer for the whole Venus Express data set obtained from May 2006 till November 2014 has proved it for some occultations (Luginin et al., 2016). In this work, we report retrieval of the upper haze (81–100 km) aerosol properties from 101 simultaneous SPICAV−UV and –IR solar occultation sessions acquired between March 2007 and January 2013. A joint analysis of the data from two spectrometers allowed us to characterize the size distribution ∼10 km higher in the atmosphere compared to previous analysis and to detect bimodal distribution in ∼50% of observations previously believed to be unimodal. At altitudes 81–92 km bimodality is observed in >50% of cases. Mode 2 particles are detected up to 98 km and mode 1 up to 100 km. Mean radius equals 0.14 ± 0.03 μm for mode 1 and 0.78 ± 0.18 μm for mode 2. Number density profiles for both modes of particles exponentially decrease with altitude, starting from 50 cm−3 and 0.3 cm−3 at 82 km for mode 1 and mode 2, respectively, and reaching 3 cm−3 at 98 km for mode 1 and 0.03 cm−3 at 94 km for mode 2.

Layering of hydroxyl groups causes anisotropic molecular clustering in liquid ethanol on hydrophobic surfaces: A molecular dynamics study

The clustering of hydrogen-bonding molecules in liquid is ubiquitous and closely related to the various properties of the liquid. At the solid–liquid interface, the influence of solid surfaces on the interfacial structure of hydrogen-bonding clusters, which has remained underexplored, is key to controlling the interfacial properties of the liquids. In this study, we performed MD simulations to reveal the interfacial structures of ethanol clusters present on hydrophobic solid surfaces. The number density profile of the hydroxyl groups indicated the presence of a layered structure, and the orientation of the hydrogen bonds (HBs) differed between the layers. The ethanol molecules preferred the lateral HBs in the layers enriched with hydroxyl groups, whereas the perpendicular HBs were dominant in the interlayer regions with fewer hydroxyl groups. Analysis of the aspect ratio of the clusters revealed that the hydrophobic surface induced the formation of longer interfacial ethanol clusters in the lateral direction, even when the hydroxyl groups of the ethanol molecules were oriented perpendicular to the surface. The lateral HBs in the enriched regions connected with each other, whereas the perpendicular ones in the interlayer regions did not, resulting in the lateral clustering of the ethanol molecules.

Identification of Superclusters and Their Properties in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Using the WHL Cluster Catalog

Superclusters are the largest massive structures in the cosmic web, on tens to hundreds of megaparsec scales. They are the largest assembly of galaxy clusters in the Universe. Apart from a few detailed studies of such structures, their evolutionary mechanism is still an open question. In order to address and answer the relevant questions, a statistically significant, large catalog of superclusters covering a wide range of redshifts and sky areas is essential. Here, we present a large catalog of 662 superclusters identified using a modified friends-of-friends algorithm applied on the WHL (Wen–Han–Liu) cluster catalog within a redshift range of 0.05 ≤ z ≤ 0.42. We name the most massive supercluster at z ∼ 0.25 as the Einasto Supercluster. We find that the median mass of superclusters is ∼5.8 × 1015 M ⊙ and the median size ∼65 Mpc. We find that the supercluster environment slightly affects the growth of clusters. We compare the properties of the observed superclusters with the mock superclusters extracted from the Horizon Run 4 cosmological simulation. The properties of the superclusters in the mocks and observations are in broad agreement. We find that the density contrast of a supercluster is correlated with its maximum extent with a power-law index, α ∼ −2. The phase-space distribution of mock superclusters shows that, on average, ∼90% of part of a supercluster has a gravitational influence on its constituents. We also show the mock halos’ average number density and peculiar velocity profiles in and around the superclusters.

The Galaxy Number Density Profile of Halos

More precise measurements of galaxy clustering will be provided by the next generation of galaxy surveys, such as DESI, WALLABY, and the Square Kilometre Array. To utilize this information to improve our understanding of the Universe, we need to accurately model the distribution of galaxies in their host dark matter halos. In this work, we present a new galaxy number density profile of halos, which makes predictions for the positions of galaxies in the host halo, different to the widely adopted Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) profile, since galaxies tend to be found more in the outskirts of halos (nearer the virial radius) than an NFW profile. The parameterized galaxy number density profile model of halos is fit and tested using the Dark Sage semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. We find that our galaxy number density profile model of halos can accurately reproduce the halo occupation distribution and galaxy two-point correlation function of the Dark Sage simulation. We also derive the analytic expressions for the circular velocity and gravitational potential energy for this profile model. We use the SDSS Data Release 10 galaxy group catalog to validate this galaxy number density profile model of halos. Compared to the NFW profile, we find that our model more accurately predicts the positions of galaxies in their host halo and the galaxy two-point correlation function.