Dynamics of gravitational clustering

DOI10.1051/0004-6361:20011663zbMath1032.83056arXivastro-ph/0107126OpenAlexW4301626820WikidataQ68843121 ScholiaQ68843121MaRDI QIDQ4707243

Patrick Valageas

Publication date: 13 March 2004

Published in: Astronomy & Astrophysics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We develop a non-perturbative method to derive the probability distribution $P(delta_R)$ of the density contrast within spherical cells in the quasi-linear regime. Indeed, since this corresponds to a rare-event limit a steepest-descent approximation can yield asymptotically exact results. We check that this is the case for Gaussian initial density fluctuations, where we recover most of the results obtained by perturbative methods from a hydrodynamical description. Moreover, we correct an error which was introduced in previous works for the high-density tail of the pdf. This feature, which appears for power-spectra with a slope $n<0$, points out the limitations of perturbative approaches which cannot describe the pdf $P(delta_R)$ for $delta_R ga 3$ even in the limit $sigma o 0$. This break-up does not involve shell-crossing and it is naturally explained within our framework. Thus, our approach provides a rigorous treatment of the quasi-linear regime, which does not rely on the hydrodynamical approximation for the equations of motion. Besides, it is actually simpler and more intuitive than previous methods. Our approach can also be applied to non-Gaussian initial conditions.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0107126

zbMATH Keywords

probability distribution cosmology density perturbations

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Relativistic cosmology (83F05) Macroscopic interaction of the gravitational field with matter (hydrodynamics, etc.) (83C55)