Excursion set theory, where density perturbations evolve stochastically with the smoothing scale, provides a method for computing the mass function of cosmological structures like dark matter halos, sheets and filaments. The computation of these mass functions is mapped into the so-called first-passage time problem in the presence of a moving barrier. In this paper we use the path integral formulation of the excursion set theory developed recently to analytically solve the first-passage time problem in the presence of a generic moving barrier, in particular the barrier corresponding to ellipsoidal collapse. We perform the computation for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian initial conditions. The expression of the halo mass function for the ellipsoidal collapse barrier and with non-Gaussianity is therefore obtained in a fully consistent way and it does not require the introduction of any form factor artificially derived from the Press-Schechter formalism based on the spherical collapse and usually adopted in the literature.
The excursion set theory, where density perturbations evolve stochastically with the smoothing scale, provides a method for computing the dark matter halo mass function. The computation of the mass function is mapped into the so-called first-passage time problem in the presence of a moving barrier. The excursion set theory is also a powerful formalism to study other properties of dark matter halos such as halo bias, accretion rate, formation time, merging rate and the formation history of halos. This is achieved by computing conditional probabilities with non-trivial initial conditions, and th…
The excursion set approach is a framework for estimating how the number density of nonlinear structures in the cosmic web depends on the expansion history of the universe and the nature of gravity. A key part of the approach is the estimation of the first crossing distribution of a suitably chosen barrier by random walks having correlated steps: The shape of the barrier is determined by the physics of nonlinear collapse, and the correlations between steps by the nature of the initial density fluctuation field. We describe analytic and numerical methods for calculating such first up-crossing di…
The excursion set approach provides a framework for predicting how the abundance of dark matter halos depends on the initial conditions. A key ingredient of this formalism comes from the physics of halo formation: the specification of a critical overdensity threshold (barrier) which protohalos must exceed if they are to form bound virialized halos at a later time. Another ingredient is statistical, as it requires the specification of the appropriate statistical ensemble over which to average when making predictions. The excursion set approach explicitly averages over all initial positions, thu…
In terms of the excursion set model, we used Monte Carlo methods in order to study the non-Markovian stochastic evolution of the smoothed overdensity $δ$ at scale $S$. For a Gaussian density field, smoothed by the top-hat filter, in real space, we used random walks, with the correct correlation between scales, in order to calculate constrained probabilities and to connect the number of structures with the overdensity of their environment. A constant barrier is used, lower than the usual one but which improves the consistency of our results with those of N-body simulations.We present comparison…
Extended Void Merging Tree Algorithm for Self-Similar Models
在等级演化中,空洞表现出与周围环境相关的两种不同行为,它们可以合并或塌陷。这两种不同类型的空过程可以用基于布朗随机游动的双障碍漂移集形式来描述。在这项研究中,分析近似描述的增长空洞合并算法进行了扩展,考虑到的贡献,空洞嵌入到过密区域(S),注定要消失,由于引力坍缩。在此之后,构造一个现实的空洞合并模型,包括崩溃和合并过程中,两个障碍偏移集形式主义的空洞人口。假设在Einstein de Sitter宇宙中存在球形空洞,构造了空洞合并算法,使我们能够在一个形式主义中考虑空洞层次的两个主要过程。此外,合并率,空洞的生存概率,空洞的尺寸分布的崩溃障碍,最后,空洞合并树算法在自相似模型的定义和推导。
In this article we compare the halo mass function predicted by the excursion set theory with a drifting diffusive barrier against the results of N-body simulations for several cosmological models. This includes the standard LCDM case for a large range of halo masses, models with different types of primordial non-Gaussianity, and the Ratra-Peebles quintessence model of Dark Energy. We show that in all those cosmological scenarios, the abundance of dark matter halos can be described by a drifting diffusive barrier, where the two parameters describing the barrier have physical content. In the cas…
Aims. We aim to study the stochastic evolution of the smoothed overdensity $δ$ at scale $S$ of the form $δ(S) = \int_{0}^S K(S,u)\mathrm{d}W(u)$, where $K$ is a kernel and $\mathrm{d}W$ is the usual Wiener process. Methods. For a Gaussian density field, smoothed by the top-hat filter, in real space, we used a simple kernel that gives the correct correlation between scales. A Monte Carlo procedure was used to construct random walks and to calculate first crossing distributions and consequently mass functions for a constant barrier. Results. We show that the evolution considered here improves th…
With the advent of large scale galaxy surveys, constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) are expected to reach ${\cal O}(f_\text{NL}) \sim 1$. In order to fully exploit the potential of these future surveys, a deep theoretical understanding of the signatures imprinted by PNG on the large scale structure of the Universe is necessary. In this paper, we explore the effect of a stochastic moving barrier on the amplitude of the non-Gaussian bias induced by local quadratic PNG. We show that, in the peak approach to halo clustering, the amplitude of the non-Gaussian bias will generally differ f…
The locations of halo formation and the peaks formalism
本文研究了从拉格朗日密度场的性质预测晕质量函数的问题。我们专注于一个小尺度的截断扰动谱(如在温暖的暗物质宇宙学)。这种截止导致了对低质量物体的强烈抑制,为严格测试哪些扰动坍缩以及坍缩到什么质量提供了额外的杠杆。我们发现,所有的晕是一致的形成附近的初始密度场的峰值,与原晕密度和椭圆率之间的强相关性。我们证明,虽然标准的偏移集理论与相关的步骤完全无法重现的质量函数,包含的峰值约束导致正确的晕数,但显着低估了低质量物体的质量(与预测晕质量函数在低质量的行为类似dn/dln m ~ m^{2/3})。这种预测是非常稳健的,不能在单一崩溃屏障的框架内轻易改变。因此,在存在小尺度截止的情况下崩溃的性质表明,偏移集计算需要更详细地了解一般椭球扰动的时间,以预测峰的最终崩溃质量--这是一个隐藏在CDM中大量小尺度结构中的问题。我们演示了如何在偏移集框架内解决这个问题。
Because of their quantum fluctuations, axion fields had a chance to experience field excursions traversing many minima of their potentials during inflation. We study this situation by analyzing the dynamics of an axion-spectator field $ψ$, present during inflation, with a periodic potential given by $v(ψ) = Λ^4 [1 - \cos (ψ/ f)]$. By assuming that the vacuum expectation value of the field is stabilized at one of its minima, say $ψ= 0$, we compute every $n$-point correlation function of $ψ$ up to first order in $Λ^4$ using the in-in formalism. This computation allows us to identify the distribu…
In this paper, extending past works of Del Popolo, we show how a high precision mass function (MF) can be obtained using the excursion set approach and an improved barrier taking implicitly into account a non-zero cosmological constant, the angular momentum acquired by tidal interaction of proto-structures and dynamical friction. In the case of the $Λ$CDM paradigm, we find that our MF is in agreement at the 3\% level to Klypin's Bolshoi simulation, in the mass range $M_{\rm vir} = 5 \times 10^9 h^{-1} M_{\odot} -- 5 \times 10^{14} h^{-1} M_{\odot}$ and redshift range $0 \lesssim z \lesssim 10$…