Showing 1–50 of 74 results for author: Hellwing, W A

Caught in the Cosmic Web: Environmental Impacts on the Halo Substructure Boosts to Dark Matter Annihilation Signals

Authors: Feven Markos Hunde, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: The annihilation of dark matter (DM) particles is expected to produce Standard Model particles, providing a potential indirect signature of DM. The clumpy substructure of DM haloes amplifies the expected annihilation signal, an effect commonly quantified by the subhalo boost factor. Standard semi-analytic models usually treat this boost as a universal function of host-halo mass, neglecting systema… ▽ More The annihilation of dark matter (DM) particles is expected to produce Standard Model particles, providing a potential indirect signature of DM. The clumpy substructure of DM haloes amplifies the expected annihilation signal, an effect commonly quantified by the subhalo boost factor. Standard semi-analytic models usually treat this boost as a universal function of host-halo mass, neglecting systematic variations induced by the large-scale environment. In this work, we extend this framework by incorporating the influence of the cosmic web on subhalo populations. Using simulation-calibrated, environment-dependent ratios for host-halo concentrations, the subhalo mass function, and internal-structure proxies of subhalos based on the $V_{\max}$--$R_{\max}$ relation, we compute environment-conditioned boost predictions for haloes residing in filaments, walls, and voids. Our main result is the boost factor at fixed host-halo mass, expressed relative to the cosmic-mean prediction, $B(M,\mathrm{env})/B_{\mathrm{CM}}(M)$. We find a clear environmental modulation: in the fiducial distance-dependent model, filament haloes show a mass-dependent transition from a $\sim 15\%$ suppression at the low-mass end to a modest enhancement of $\sim 12\%$ for massive hosts, wall haloes remain intermediate, while void haloes stay suppressed by roughly $30$--$33\%$ across the explored host-mass range. These results should be interpreted as deterministic model predictions obtained by propagating environment-dependent ingredient ratios through two standard semi-analytic boost frameworks. We provide an environment-aware prescription for subhalo boosts, together with modular environmental corrections that may also be useful in indirect-detection forecasts, strong-lensing mass modeling, and related halo-population applications. △ Less

Submitted 28 April, 2026; originally announced April 2026.

Comments: 16 pages, 5 figures

Large Scale Structure and Environmental Effects on Dwarf Galaxy Growth

Authors: Mac M. McMullan, Sownak Bose, Azadeh Fattahi, Isabel Santos-Santos, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Tilly A. Evans-Hofmann

Abstract: Dwarf galaxies serve as key models for understanding galaxy assembly in the early universe, with their final properties influenced by environmental factors. Using the dark matter-only simulation "Copernicus Complexio" (COCO) and the semi-analytic model GALFORM, we examine the stellar mass assembly of dwarf galaxies across different cosmic web regions, defined by the NEXUS+/CACTUS algorithm. We ide… ▽ More Dwarf galaxies serve as key models for understanding galaxy assembly in the early universe, with their final properties influenced by environmental factors. Using the dark matter-only simulation "Copernicus Complexio" (COCO) and the semi-analytic model GALFORM, we examine the stellar mass assembly of dwarf galaxies across different cosmic web regions, defined by the NEXUS+/CACTUS algorithm. We identify significant variations in stellar mass assembly based on final mass, with the largest dwarf galaxies assembling, on average, 50% of their mass 7.7 Gyrs later than the smallest ones. Central galaxies also differ in their assembly from satellites of comparable final mass, forming 50% of their mass 2.5 Gyrs later. The location within the cosmic web further influences assembly, with satellite galaxies showing greater differences than centrals. Satellites in the densest regions assemble their mass 1.5 Gyrs earlier than those in the least dense regions, compared to 0.69 Gyrs for central galaxies. This disparity arises from varying infall times, with satellites in dense environments infalling 5.2 Gyrs earlier than those in voids. Additionally, we investigate the impact of reionisation parameters, specifically the timing ($z_{cut}$) and filtering scale ($v_{cut}$) of reionisation. The stellar-to-halo-mass relation shows a power law break between $10^8~\mathrm{M}_\odot < M_{200} < 10^{10}~\mathrm{M}_\odot$, with earlier $z_{cut}$ or higher $v_{cut}$ leading to more star formation suppression in lower-mass haloes. The halo occupation fraction is also affected, with later $z_{cut}$ or lower $v_{cut}$ resulting in fewer lower-mass haloes being occupied at $z=0$. Our investigation provides a valuable theoretical framework for interpreting upcoming observational data in this mass regime. △ Less

Submitted 31 March, 2026; originally announced April 2026.

Comments: 21 pages, 18 figures

Angular clustering and bias of photometric quasars in the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 4

Authors: Anjitha John William, Maciej Bilicki, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Szymon J. Nakoneczny, Priyanka Jalan

Abstract: We investigate the angular clustering and effective bias of photometrically selected quasars in the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 4 (KiDS DR4). We update the previous photometric redshifts (photo-$z$s) of the KiDS quasars using Hybrid-z, a deep learning framework combining four-band KiDS images and nine-band KiDS+VIKING magnitudes. Hybrid-z is trained on the latest Dark Energy Spectroscopic Inst… ▽ More We investigate the angular clustering and effective bias of photometrically selected quasars in the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 4 (KiDS DR4). We update the previous photometric redshifts (photo-$z$s) of the KiDS quasars using Hybrid-z, a deep learning framework combining four-band KiDS images and nine-band KiDS+VIKING magnitudes. Hybrid-z is trained on the latest Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR1 and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR17 quasars matching with KiDS, and achieves average bias $\langle δz \rangle < 0.01$ and scatter $\sim 0.04(1 + z)$ on a test sample. The updated catalog of $\sim 157k$ quasars over $777~\mathrm{deg}^2$ is divided into four tomographic bins spanning $0.1 \leq z_{\mathrm{phot}} \leq 2.7$. In each bin, we measure the angular two-point correlation function and compare it with theoretical predictions for dark matter clustering. We estimate the best-fit scale-independent quasar bias, which increases from $b \approx 1.6$ at $z \approx 0.6$ to $b \approx 4.0$ at $z \approx 2.2$, and is well matched by a quadratic relation in redshift. Our clustering analysis indicates that KiDS quasars reside in dark matter halos of mass $\log_{10}(M_{\mathrm{eff}}/h^{-1}M_\odot)$ in the range $\sim 12.7$--$12.9$ and effective peak heights $ν_{\mathrm{eff}}$ rising from $\sim 1.5$ to $2.9$ over our redshift span. We study two systematics that could affect the bias derivation: stellar contamination and the redshift distribution assumed in the theoretical modeling. The former has a negligible effect, whereas the latter significantly impacts the derived $b(z)$, emphasizing the importance of redshift calibration. Our work is the first cosmological application of quasars selected from KiDS and paves the way for future extensions in the final KiDS DR5, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, or the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope. △ Less

Submitted 20 August, 2026; v1 submitted 21 November, 2025; originally announced November 2025.

Comments: 13 pages, 7 figures

Journal ref: A&A, 712, A196 (2026)

Wide Area VISTA Extragalactic Survey (WAVES): Selection of targets for the Wide survey using decision-tree classification

Authors: G. Kaur, M. Bilicki, S. Bellstedt, E. Tempel, W. A. Hellwing, I. Baldry, B. Bandi, S. Barsanti, S. Driver, N. Guerra-Varas, B. Holwerda, C. Lagos, J. Loveday, A. Robotham

Abstract: The Wide-Area VISTA Extragalactic Survey (WAVES) on the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST) includes two flux-limited subsurveys with very high (95\%) completeness requirements: Wide over $\sim\!1200$ deg$^2$ and Deep over $\sim\!65$ deg$^2$. Both are $Z$-band selected, respectively as $Z<21.1$ and $Z<21.25$ mag, and additionally redshift-limited, while the true redshifts are not… ▽ More The Wide-Area VISTA Extragalactic Survey (WAVES) on the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST) includes two flux-limited subsurveys with very high (95\%) completeness requirements: Wide over $\sim\!1200$ deg$^2$ and Deep over $\sim\!65$ deg$^2$. Both are $Z$-band selected, respectively as $Z<21.1$ and $Z<21.25$ mag, and additionally redshift-limited, while the true redshifts are not known a priori but will be only measured by 4MOST. Here, we present a classification-based method to select the targets for WAVES-Wide. Rather than estimating individual redshifts for the input photometric objects, we assign probabilities of them being below $z=0.2$, the redshift limit of the subsurvey. This is done with the supervised machine learning approach of eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), trained on a comprehensive spectroscopic sample overlapping with WAVES fields. Our feature space is composed of nine VST+VISTA magnitudes from $u$ to $K_s$ and all the possible colors, but most relevant for the classification are the $g$-band and the $u-g$, $g-r$ and $J-K_s$ colors. We check the performance of our classifier both for the fiducial WAVES-Wide limits, as well as for a range of neighboring redshift and magnitude thresholds, consistently finding purity and completeness at the level of 94-95\%. We note, however, that this performance deteriorates for sources close to the selection limits, due to deficiencies of the current spectroscopic training sample and the decreasing signal-to-noise of the photometry. We apply the classifier trained on the full spectroscopic sample to 14 million photometric galaxies from the WAVES input catalog, which have all 9 bands measured. Our work demonstrates that a machine-learning classifier could be used to select a flux- and redshift-limited sample from deep photometric data. △ Less

Submitted 13 October, 2025; originally announced October 2025.

Anisotropic Counts-in-Cells in Redshift Space: A New Route to Cosmological Constraints from Galaxy Surveys

Authors: Paweł Drozda, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: We introduce a novel extension of the volume-averaged correlation function (VACF) framework by replacing the traditional spherical smoothing kernels with anisotropic, ellipsoidal windows. This generalized approach enables the study of shape-dependent clustering statistics and captures directional information encoded in large-scale structure, particularly in redshift space where galaxy distribution… ▽ More We introduce a novel extension of the volume-averaged correlation function (VACF) framework by replacing the traditional spherical smoothing kernels with anisotropic, ellipsoidal windows. This generalized approach enables the study of shape-dependent clustering statistics and captures directional information encoded in large-scale structure, particularly in redshift space where galaxy distribution is distorted by peculiar velocities. We define and compute ellipsoidal VACFs $\barξ_J (r_{\parallel}, r_{\perp})$ and the corresponding reduced cumulants $s_J (r_{\parallel}, r_{\perp})$, allowing for joint sensitivity to both scale and anisotropy across arbitrary statistical order J. Using a suite of COLA N-body simulations spanning a grid of cosmologies with varying $Ω_M$ and $σ_8$, we analyze the behavior of ellipsoidal VACFs and cumulants in both real and redshift space. We find that the shape of the smoothing kernel that maximizes the clustering signal depends strongly on the redshift-space distortion regime: spherical in real space, prolate in the Fingers-of-God-dominated regime, and oblate in the Kaiser squashing-dominated regime. While the standard VACF amplitude is mainly sensitive to $σ_8$, the shape-dependence of redshift-space skewness shows a coherent response to the combined growth parameter $f σ_8$, with a typical sensitivity at the 1-3 $σ$ level between neighboring models. Our results demonstrate that ellipsoidal VACFs offer a computationally efficient and information-rich generalization of counts-in-cells analysis, with promising applications to galaxy survey data, halo catalogs, and cosmological tests of gravity beyond $ΛCDM$. △ Less

Submitted 12 June, 2026; v1 submitted 2 June, 2025; originally announced June 2025.

Comments: 12 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Code available at: https://github.com/Pawel-96/Avcorr

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 112, 063543, 2026

Skewness as a Probe of Gravity: Real and Redshift Space Counts-In-Cells

Authors: Paweł Drozda, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: We study the counts-in-cells reduced skewness $s_3$ for dark matter, halo, and galaxy distributions in both real and redshift space, using the ELEPHANT ($\textit{Extended LEnsing PHysics with ANalytical ray Tracing}$) suite of $N$-body simulations. We compare General Relativity (GR) with two extended (EG) gravity models: $f(R)$ gravity with chameleon screening and the normal-branch Dvali-Gabadadze… ▽ More We study the counts-in-cells reduced skewness $s_3$ for dark matter, halo, and galaxy distributions in both real and redshift space, using the ELEPHANT ($\textit{Extended LEnsing PHysics with ANalytical ray Tracing}$) suite of $N$-body simulations. We compare General Relativity (GR) with two extended (EG) gravity models: $f(R)$ gravity with chameleon screening and the normal-branch Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) model with Vainshtein screening. We quantify the suppression of $s_3$ by redshift-space distortions (RSD), finding that while small-scale skewness is strongly reduced, the $F5$ model retains a $\sim 4\%$ deviation from GR in galaxy samples, corresponding to a $2σ$ significance. We show that the ratio $s_3^{\mathrm{RSD}}/s_3^{\mathrm{real}}$ is approximately independent of the gravity model across tracers and redshifts. Our results demonstrate that real-space predictions can help reliably infer redshift-space skewness in both GR and extended gravity, providing a new tool for testing gravity with current and forthcoming galaxy redshift surveys. △ Less

Submitted 12 June, 2026; v1 submitted 17 April, 2025; originally announced April 2025.

Comments: 14 pages, 9 figures, 1 table

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 112, 063546, 2025

Simulations of the accreted stellar halos of low-mass field galaxies

Authors: Andrew P. Cooper, Carlos S. Frenk, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Sownak Bose

Abstract: We predict the properties of stellar halos in galaxies of present-day virial mass $10^8 < M_{200} < 10^{12} {\rm M_\odot}$ by combining the GALFORM semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, the COCO cosmological N-body simulation, and the STINGS particle tagging technique. Galaxies in low mass halos have a wide range of stellar halo properties. Their diversity is much greater at fixed stellar mass… ▽ More We predict the properties of stellar halos in galaxies of present-day virial mass $10^8 < M_{200} < 10^{12} {\rm M_\odot}$ by combining the GALFORM semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, the COCO cosmological N-body simulation, and the STINGS particle tagging technique. Galaxies in low mass halos have a wide range of stellar halo properties. Their diversity is much greater at fixed stellar mass than fixed virial mass. In the least massive DM halos capable of supporting galaxy formation, accreted mass fractions are < 10 per cent, and the typical density profile of accreted stars is similar to that of stars formed in situ. In low mass galaxies, the radial scale lengths of accreted stellar halos are smaller than those of stellar disks formed in situ, but the accreted component is still diffuse, not bulge-like. At the scale of galaxies like M33, the surface density of accreted stars exceeds that of the in situ component at ~15kpc; the accreted surface density at this radius is $3.5\lesssim \log_{10} M_\star/{\rm M_\odot} \mathrm{kpc^{-2}} \lesssim 6$, varying systematically with virial mass. We compare our predictions to observations and other cosmological simulations. A small but significant number of $\sim 10^{12} {\rm M_\odot}$ halos with exceptionally inefficient star formation -- "failed Milky Ways" -- are more prominent in our model than others; the true abundance of this population is a potential constraint on galaxy formation physics and could be measured by low surface brightness surveys targeting field galaxies with M33-like stellar mass. The stellar particle data for our simulation is publicly available. △ Less

Submitted 20 June, 2025; v1 submitted 22 January, 2025; originally announced January 2025.

Comments: MNRAS accepted. 25 pages, 21 figures (appendix 5 pages, 4 figures). See https://github.com/nthu-ga/stings-data for public simulation data (also Appendix A)

Journal ref: MNRAS 540 (2025) 2049-2080

Hybrid-z: Enhancing Kilo-Degree Survey bright galaxy sample photometric redshifts with deep learning

Authors: Anjitha John William, Priyanka Jalan, Maciej Bilicki, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Hareesh Thuruthipilly, Szymon J. Nakoneczny

Abstract: We employ deep learning (DL) to improve photometric redshifts (photo-$z$s) in the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 4 Bright galaxy sample (KiDS-Bright DR4). This dataset, used as a foreground for KiDS lensing and clustering studies, is flux-limited to $r<20$ mag with mean $z=0.23$ and covers 1000 deg$^2$. Its photo-$z$s were previously derived with artificial neural networks from the ANNz2 package,… ▽ More We employ deep learning (DL) to improve photometric redshifts (photo-$z$s) in the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 4 Bright galaxy sample (KiDS-Bright DR4). This dataset, used as a foreground for KiDS lensing and clustering studies, is flux-limited to $r<20$ mag with mean $z=0.23$ and covers 1000 deg$^2$. Its photo-$z$s were previously derived with artificial neural networks from the ANNz2 package, trained on the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) spectroscopy. Here we considerably improve over these previous redshift estimations by building a DL model, Hybrid-z, which combines four-band KiDS images with nine-band magnitudes from KiDS+VIKING. The Hybrid-z framework provides photo-$z$s for KiDS-Bright, with negligible mean residuals of O($10^{-4}$) and scatter at the level of $0.014(1+z)$ -- reduction by 20% over the previous nine-band derivations with ANNz2. We check our photo-$z$ model performance on test data drawn from GAMA, as well as from other KiDS-overlapping wide-angle spectroscopic surveys, namely SDSS, 2dFLenS, and 2dFGRS. We find stable behavior and consistent improvement over ANNz2 throughout. We finally apply Hybrid-z trained on GAMA to the entire KiDS-Bright DR4 sample of 1.2 million galaxies. For these final predictions, we design a method of smoothing the input redshift distribution of the training set, to avoid propagation of features present in GAMA, related to its small sky area and large-scale structure imprint in its fields. Our work paves the way towards the best-possible photo-$z$s achievable with machine learning for any galaxy type both for the final KiDS-Bright DR5 data and for future deeper imaging, such as from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. △ Less

Submitted 16 July, 2025; v1 submitted 3 January, 2025; originally announced January 2025.

Comments: 14 pages, 7 figures

Journal ref: A&A 698, A276 (2025)

A universal and physically motivated threshold for Hessian-based cosmic web identification: V-Web case

Authors: Edward Olex, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Alexander Knebe

Abstract: The study of large-scale structure can benefit from accurate and robust identification of the cosmic web. Having such classification can facilitate a more complete extraction of cosmological information encoded therein. Classification methods like T-web and V-web, based on the Hessian matrix, are widely used to signal-out voids, sheets, filaments, and knots. However, these techniques depend on a t… ▽ More The study of large-scale structure can benefit from accurate and robust identification of the cosmic web. Having such classification can facilitate a more complete extraction of cosmological information encoded therein. Classification methods like T-web and V-web, based on the Hessian matrix, are widely used to signal-out voids, sheets, filaments, and knots. However, these techniques depend on a threshold parameter which value is chosen without physical justification, usually relying on a user visual impression, thus limiting the universality of results. In this paper we focus on the V-web method. Our aim is to find a physical motivation for deriving an universal threshold that can be applied across different cosmic scales and epochs. V-web classify the large-scale structure using the eigenvalues of the velocity shear tensor. Using a set of gravity-only simulations we introduce a normalization that incorporates the standard deviation of the velocity divergence field, isolating the beyond Gaussian evolution of cosmic web elements. In the Zeldovich's approximation, the probability presence of each cosmic web element remains constant at a threshold equal to 0. For the first time, we reveal that this behavior also holds in the non-linear regime for a normalized positive 'constant volume threshold' that depends on both the redshift and the applied smoothing scale. The conservation of volume fractions is valid for the studied redshifts between 0 and 2, regardless of cosmic variance, and is most precise for intermediate smoothing scales around 3 Mpc/h. The properties of the cosmic web derived using this approach in the V-web align with expectations from other methods, including visual impressions. We provide a general fit formula to compute the constant volume threshold for any standard cosmological simulation, regardless of its specific properties. △ Less

Submitted 12 December, 2024; originally announced December 2024.

Comments: Submitted for publication in A&A

Journal ref: A&A 696, A142 (2025)

Enhancing Photometric Redshift Catalogs Through Color-Space Analysis: Application to KiDS-Bright Galaxies

Authors: Priyanka Jalan, Maciej Bilicki, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Angus H. Wright, Andrej Dvornik, Catherine Heymans, Hendrik Hildebrandt, Shahab Joudaki, Konrad Kuijken, Constance Mahony, Szymon Jan Nakoneczny, Mario Radovich, Jan Luca van den Busch, Mijin Yoon

Abstract: We present a method to refine photometric redshift galaxy catalogs by comparing their color-space matching with overlapping spectroscopic calibration data. We focus on cases where photometric redshifts (photo-$z$) are estimated empirically. Identifying galaxies that are poorly represented in spectroscopic data is crucial, as their photo-$z$ may be unreliable due to extrapolation beyond the trainin… ▽ More We present a method to refine photometric redshift galaxy catalogs by comparing their color-space matching with overlapping spectroscopic calibration data. We focus on cases where photometric redshifts (photo-$z$) are estimated empirically. Identifying galaxies that are poorly represented in spectroscopic data is crucial, as their photo-$z$ may be unreliable due to extrapolation beyond the training sample. Our approach uses a self-organizing map (SOM) to project a multi-dimensional parameter space of magnitudes and colors onto a 2-D manifold, allowing us to analyze the resulting patterns as a function of various galaxy properties. Using SOM, we compare the Kilo-Degree Survey bright galaxy sample (KiDS-Bright), limited to $r<20$ mag, with various spectroscopic samples, including the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA). Our analysis reveals that GAMA under-represents KiDS-Bright at its faintest ($r\gtrsim19.5$) and highest-redshift ($z\gtrsim0.4$) ranges, however no strong trends in color or stellar mass. By incorporating additional spectroscopic data from the SDSS, 2dF, and early DESI, we identify SOM cells where photo-$z$ are estimated suboptimally. We derive a set of SOM-based criteria to refine the photometric sample and improve photo-$z$ statistics. For the KiDS-Bright sample, this improvement is modest: exclusion of the least represented 20% of the sample reduces photo-$z$ scatter by less than 10%. We conclude that GAMA, used for KiDS-Bright photo-$z$ training, is sufficiently representative for reliable redshift estimation across most of the color space. Future spectroscopic data from surveys such as DESI should be better suited for exploiting the full improvement potential of our method. △ Less

Submitted 19 December, 2024; v1 submitted 23 September, 2024; originally announced September 2024.

Comments: Published in A&A

Caught in the cosmic web: environmental effects on subhalo abundance and internal density profiles

Authors: Feven Markos Hunde, Oliver Newton, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki, Krishna Naidoo

Abstract: Using the high-resolution $N$-body cosmological simulation COLOR, we explore the cosmic web (CW) environmental effects on subhalo populations and their internal properties. We use CaCTus, which incorporates an implementation of the state-of-the-art segmentation method NEXUS+, to delineate the simulation volume into nodes, filaments, walls, and voids. We group host haloes by virial mass and segment… ▽ More Using the high-resolution $N$-body cosmological simulation COLOR, we explore the cosmic web (CW) environmental effects on subhalo populations and their internal properties. We use CaCTus, which incorporates an implementation of the state-of-the-art segmentation method NEXUS+, to delineate the simulation volume into nodes, filaments, walls, and voids. We group host haloes by virial mass and segment each mass bin into consecutive CW elements. This reveals that subhalo populations in hosts within specific environments differ on average from the cosmic mean. The subhalo mass function is affected strongly, where hosts in filaments typically contain more subhaloes ($5$ to $20\%$), while hosts in voids are subhalo-poor, with $25\%$ fewer subhaloes. We find that the abundance of the most massive subhaloes, with reduced masses of $μ\equiv M_\mathrm{sub}/M_{200}$ is most sensitive to the CW environment. A corresponding picture emerges when looking at subhalo mass fractions, $f_\mathrm{sub}$, where the filament hosts are significantly more `granular' (having higher $f_\mathrm{sub}$) than the cosmic mean, while the void hosts have much smoother density distributions (with $f_\mathrm{sub}$ lower by $2$ - $20\%$ than the mean). Finally, when we look at the subhalo internal kinematic $V_{\rm max}$-$R_{\rm max}$ relations, we find that subhaloes located in the void and wall hosts exhibit density profiles with lower concentrations than the mean, while the filament hosts demonstrate much more concentrated mass profiles. Across all our samples, the effect of the CW environment generally strengthens with decreasing host halo virial mass. Our results show that host location in the large-scale CW introduces significant systematic effects on internal subhalo properties and population statistics. △ Less

Submitted 26 June, 2025; v1 submitted 13 September, 2024; originally announced September 2024.

Comments: 14 pages, 5 figures, and 4 tables; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics after major revision

Journal ref: Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 700, Article A65 (2025)

Extragalactic Stellar Tidal Streams: Observations meet Simulation

Authors: Juan Miro-Carretero, Maria A. Gomez-Flechoso, David Martinez-Delgado, Andrew P. Cooper, Santi Roca-Fabrega, Mohammad Akhlaghi, Annalisa Pillepich, Konrad Kuijken, Denis Erkal, Tobias Buck, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Sownak Bose, Giuseppe Donatiello, Carlos S. Frenk

Abstract: According to the well established hierarchical framework for galaxy evolution, galaxies grow through mergers with other galaxies and the LambdaCDM cosmological model predicts that the stellar halos of massive galaxies are rich in remnants from minor mergers. The Stellar Streams Legacy Survey (SSLS) has provided a first release of a catalogue with a statistically significant sample of stellar strea… ▽ More According to the well established hierarchical framework for galaxy evolution, galaxies grow through mergers with other galaxies and the LambdaCDM cosmological model predicts that the stellar halos of massive galaxies are rich in remnants from minor mergers. The Stellar Streams Legacy Survey (SSLS) has provided a first release of a catalogue with a statistically significant sample of stellar streams in the Local Universe, detected in deep images from DESI Legacy Surveys and the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The main objective is to compare the results of the observations of stellar tidal streams with predictions from state-of-the-art cosmological simulations regarding their abundance, up to a redshift z < 0.02, according to the LambdaCDM model. We use the predictions of the cosmological simulations Copernicus Complexio, TNG50 of the IllustrisTNG project, and Auriga to generate mock-images of nearby halos and search for stellar streams. We compare the stream frequency, characteristics and photometry in these images with DES observations. We find generally good agreement between the real images and the simulated ones regarding frequency, characteristics and photometry of the streams, while the stream morphology is somewhat different between observations and simulations, and between simulations themselves. By varying the sky background of the synthetic images to emulate different surface brightness limit levels, we also obtain predictions for the detection rate of stellar tidal streams up to a surface brightness limit of 35 mag arcsec^-2. The cosmological simulations predict that with an instrument such as the one used in the DES, it would be necessary to reach a surface brightness limit of 32 mag arcsec^-2 in the r-band to achieve a frequency of up to around 70% in the detection of stellar tidal streams around galaxies in the redshift range considered here. △ Less

Submitted 30 October, 2024; v1 submitted 5 September, 2024; originally announced September 2024.

Comments: 19 pages, 23 figures

Journal ref: A&A 700, A176 (2025)

Bending the web: exploring the impact of modified gravity on the density field and halo properties within the cosmic web

Authors: Suhani Gupta, Simon Pfeifer, Punyakoti Ganeshaiah Veena, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: This work investigates the impact of different Modified Gravity (MG) models on the large-scale structures (LSS) properties in relation to the cosmic web (CW), using N-body simulations of f(R) and nDGP models. We analyse the impact of the MG effect on the density field through density distribution and clustering statistics, and assess its influence on halo properties by examining the halo mass func… ▽ More This work investigates the impact of different Modified Gravity (MG) models on the large-scale structures (LSS) properties in relation to the cosmic web (CW), using N-body simulations of f(R) and nDGP models. We analyse the impact of the MG effect on the density field through density distribution and clustering statistics, and assess its influence on halo properties by examining the halo mass function and spin. We find that the PDF of dark matter density fields shift towards lower densities for stronger variants of f(R) and nDGP. Additionally, when segregated into CW environments, the stronger variants show a higher mean density in knots, and a lower mean density in voids compared to LCDM. For higher-order clustering statistics relative to LCDM, the scale-dependent f(R) variants exhibit a greater non-monotonic deviation as a function of scale when segregated into environments, compared to nDGP. Additionally, the halo mass function separated into CW environments shows a similar behaviour, introducing complex trends as a function of mass for f(R) and nDGP models. We also report up to a 15% enhancement in the angular momentum of halos in f(R) gravity models compared to LCDM, with similar differences when considering environmental segregation. We demonstrate that this difference in the spin arises largely due to different tidal torquing across the various MG models. Therefore, studying higher-order statistics of the cosmological fields and halo properties separated into CW components probes the additional physics contained within the MG models. We conclude that considering the effect of CW in MG studies increases the constraining power of these LSS statistics, and can further aid the distinction between the cosmologies that have an identical expansion history to the standard LCDM but differing underlying physics, such as the MG models presented in this work. △ Less

Submitted 25 October, 2024; v1 submitted 23 August, 2024; originally announced August 2024.

Deep learning based photometric redshifts for the Kilo-Degree Survey Bright Galaxy Sample

Authors: Anjitha John William, Priyanka Jalan, Maciej Bilicki, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: In cosmological analyses, precise redshift determination remains pivotal for understanding cosmic evolution. However, with only a fraction of galaxies having spectroscopic redshifts (spec-$z$s), the challenge lies in estimating redshifts for a larger number. To address this, photometry-based redshift (photo-$z$) estimation, employing machine learning algorithms, is a viable solution. Identifying t… ▽ More In cosmological analyses, precise redshift determination remains pivotal for understanding cosmic evolution. However, with only a fraction of galaxies having spectroscopic redshifts (spec-$z$s), the challenge lies in estimating redshifts for a larger number. To address this, photometry-based redshift (photo-$z$) estimation, employing machine learning algorithms, is a viable solution. Identifying the limitations of previous methods, this study focuses on implementing deep learning (DL) techniques within the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) Bright Galaxy Sample for more accurate photo-$z$ estimations. Comparing our new DL-based model against prior `shallow' neural networks, we showcase improvements in redshift accuracy. Our model gives mean photo-$z$ bias $\langle Δz\rangle= 10^{-3}$ and scatter $\mathrm{SMAD}(Δz)=0.016$, where $Δz = (z_\mathrm{phot}-z_\mathrm{spec})/(1+z_\mathrm{spec})$. This research highlights the promising role of DL in revolutionizing photo-$z$ estimation. △ Less

Submitted 14 December, 2023; v1 submitted 13 December, 2023; originally announced December 2023.

Comments: Proceedings of the XLI Polish Astronomical Society Meeting, 11-15 September 2023, Toruń, Poland

Journal ref: Proceedings of the Polish Astronomical Society, vol. 13, 243-248 (2024), https://www.pta.edu.pl/proc/v13p243

Dynamics of pairwise motions in the fully non-linear regime in LCDM and Modified Gravity cosmologies

Authors: Mariana Jaber, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Jorge E. García-Farieta, Suhani Gupta, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: In contrast to our understanding of density field tracers, the modelling of direct statistics pertaining to the cosmic velocity field remains open to significant opportunities for improvement. The lack of accurate modelling for the non-linear domain of pairwise velocities restricts our capacity to fully exploit the information encoded in this observable. We present a robust approach for modelling… ▽ More In contrast to our understanding of density field tracers, the modelling of direct statistics pertaining to the cosmic velocity field remains open to significant opportunities for improvement. The lack of accurate modelling for the non-linear domain of pairwise velocities restricts our capacity to fully exploit the information encoded in this observable. We present a robust approach for modelling the mean infall velocities, $v_{12}(r,a)$, with broad applicability spanning sub-megaparsec scales and cosmologies extending beyond the standard LCDM paradigm. Our approach involves solving the full pair-conservation equation using accurate non-linear power spectrum descriptions. To assess the robustness of our model, we extend it to cosmologies beyond the standard LCDM, in particular, the Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$-gravity and Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) modified gravity models. Remarkably, our predictions for pairwise velocities of dark matter particles at kilo-parsec scales exhibit excellent agreement with N-body simulations throughout the entire dynamical range ($0.1 \lesssim ξ\lesssim 1000$, or $r\geq0.4$Mpc/h). Furthermore, we show that different gravity models leave distinct signatures in the shape and dynamics of the mean pairwise velocities, providing a potent test of cosmological gravity laws. △ Less

Submitted 24 February, 2025; v1 submitted 1 December, 2023; originally announced December 2023.

Comments: 11 pages plus references, 5 figures. Our main findings are in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Accepted in PRD for publication

Journal ref: Physical Review D, Volume 109, Issue 12, article id.123528, June 2024 Physical Review D, Volume 109, Issue 12, article id.123528

Ghostly galaxies: accretion-dominated stellar systems in low-mass dark matter halos

Authors: Chung-Wen Wang, Andrew P. Cooper, Sownak Bose, Carlos S. Frenk, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: Wide-area deep imaging surveys have discovered large numbers of extremely low surface brightness dwarf galaxies, which challenge galaxy formation theory and, potentially, offer new constraints on the nature of dark matter. Here we discuss one as-yet unexplored formation mechanism that may account for a fraction of low surface brightness dwarfs. We call this the `ghost galaxy' scenario. In this sce… ▽ More Wide-area deep imaging surveys have discovered large numbers of extremely low surface brightness dwarf galaxies, which challenge galaxy formation theory and, potentially, offer new constraints on the nature of dark matter. Here we discuss one as-yet unexplored formation mechanism that may account for a fraction of low surface brightness dwarfs. We call this the `ghost galaxy' scenario. In this scenario, inefficient radiative cooling prevents star formation in the `main branch' of the merger tree of a low mass dark matter halo, such that almost all its stellar mass is acquired through mergers with less massive (but nevertheless star-forming) progenitors. Present-day systems formed in this way would be `ghostly' isolated stellar halos with no central galaxy. We use merger trees based on the Extended Press-Schechter formalism and the COCO cosmological N-body simulation to demonstrate that mass assembly histories of this kind can occur for low-mass halos in Lambda-CDM, but they are rare. They are most probable in isolated halos of present-day mass ~4x10^9 M_sun, occurring for ~5 per cent of all halos of that mass under standard assumptions about the timing and effect of cosmic reionization. The stellar masses of star-forming progenitors in these systems are highly uncertain; abundance-matching arguments imply a bimodal present-day mass function having a brighter population (median M_star ~3x10^6 M_sun) consistent with the tail of the observed luminosity function of ultra-diffuse galaxies. This suggests observable analogues of these systems may await discovery. We find that a stronger ionizing background (globally or locally) produces brighter and more extended ghost galaxies. △ Less

Submitted 30 October, 2023; v1 submitted 30 June, 2023; originally announced June 2023.

Comments: 19 pages, 13 figures, ApJ in press

A Local Universe model for constrained simulations

Authors: Simon Pfeifer, Aurélien Valade, Stefan Gottlöber, Yehuda Hoffman, Noam I. Libeskind, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: The aim of cosmological simulations is to reproduce the properties of the observed Universe, serving as tools to test structure and galaxy formation models. Constrained simulations of our local cosmological region up to a few hundred Mpc/h , the local Universe, are designed to reproduce the actual cosmic web of structures as observed. A question that often arises is how to judge the quality of con… ▽ More The aim of cosmological simulations is to reproduce the properties of the observed Universe, serving as tools to test structure and galaxy formation models. Constrained simulations of our local cosmological region up to a few hundred Mpc/h , the local Universe, are designed to reproduce the actual cosmic web of structures as observed. A question that often arises is how to judge the quality of constrained simulations against the observations of the Local Universe. Here we introduce the Local Universe model (LUM), a new methodology, whereby many constrained simulations can be judged and the ''best'' initial conditions can be identified. By characterising the Local Universe as a set of rich clusters, the model identifies haloes that serve as simulated counterparts to the observed clusters. Their merit is determined against a null hypothesis, the probability that such a counterpart could be identified in a random, unconstrained simulation. This model is applied to 100 constrained simulations using the Cosmicflows-3 data. Cluster counterparts are found for all constrained simulations, their distribution of separation from the true observed cluster position and their mass distribution are investigated. Lastly, the ''best'' constrained simulation is selected using the LUM and discussed in more detail. △ Less

Submitted 9 May, 2023; originally announced May 2023.

Comments: 10 pages, 8 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Hierarchical structure of the cosmic web and galaxy properties

Authors: Mariana Jaber, Marius Peper, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Miguel Angel Aragon-Calvo, Octavio Valenzuela

Abstract: Voids possess a very complex internal structure and dynamics. Using $N$-body simulations we study the hierarchical nature of sub-structures present in the cosmic web (CW). We use the SpineWeb method which provides a complete characterization of the CW into its primary constituents: voids, walls, filaments, and nodes. We aim to characterize the inner compositions of voids by detecting their interna… ▽ More Voids possess a very complex internal structure and dynamics. Using $N$-body simulations we study the hierarchical nature of sub-structures present in the cosmic web (CW). We use the SpineWeb method which provides a complete characterization of the CW into its primary constituents: voids, walls, filaments, and nodes. We aim to characterize the inner compositions of voids by detecting their internal filamentary structure and explore the impact of this on the properties of void galaxies. Using a semi-analytical galaxy evolution model we explore the impact of the CW on several galaxies' properties. We find the fraction of haloes living in various CW components to be a function of their mass, with the majority of the haloes of mass below $10^{12}M_{\odot}/h$, residing in voids and haloes of higher masses distributed mostly in walls. Similarly, in the Stellar-to-Halo mass relationship, we observe an environmental dependence for haloes of masses below $10^{12}M_{\odot}/h$, showing an increased stellar mass fraction for the densest environments. The spin is lower for galaxies in the densest environments for the mass range of $10^{10}-10^{12}M_{\odot}/h$. Finally, we found a strong trend of higher metallicity fractions for filaments and node galaxies, with respect to the full sample, in the range of $M_*<10^{10}M_{\odot}/h$. Our results show that cosmic voids possess an intricate internal network of substructures. This in turn makes them a complex environment for galaxy formation, impacting in an unique way the properties and evolution of the chosen few galaxies that form inside them. △ Less

Submitted 24 February, 2025; v1 submitted 27 April, 2023; originally announced April 2023.

Comments: 12 pages, 8 figures, version accepted in MNRAS for publication

Journal ref: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 527, Issue 2, pp.4087-4099, January 2024

Improved analytical modeling of the non-linear power spectrum in modified gravity cosmologies

Authors: Suhani Gupta, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: Reliable analytical modeling of the non-linear power spectrum (PS) of matter perturbations is among the chief pre-requisites for cosmological analyses from the largest sky surveys. This is especially true for the models that extend the standard general-relativity paradigm by adding the fifth force, where numerical simulations can be prohibitively expensive. Here we present a method for building ac… ▽ More Reliable analytical modeling of the non-linear power spectrum (PS) of matter perturbations is among the chief pre-requisites for cosmological analyses from the largest sky surveys. This is especially true for the models that extend the standard general-relativity paradigm by adding the fifth force, where numerical simulations can be prohibitively expensive. Here we present a method for building accurate PS models for two modified gravity (MG) variants: namely the Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$, and the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) braneworld. We start by modifying the standard halo model (HM) with respect to the baseline Lambda-Cold-Dark-Matter ($Λ$CDM) scenario, by using the HM components with specific MG extensions. We find that our $P(k)_{\text{HM}}$ retains 5% accuracy only up to mildly non-linear scales ($k \lesssim 0.3$ $h/\,\mbox{Mpc}$) when compared to PS from numerical simulations. At the same time, our HM prescription much more accurately captures the ratio $Υ(k) = P(k)_{\text{MG}}/P(k)_{Λ\text{CDM}}$ up to non-linear scales. We show that using HM-derived $Υ(k)$ together with a viable non-linear $Λ$CDM $P(k)$ prescription (such as HALOFIT), we render a much better and more accurate PS predictions in MG. The new approach yields considerably improved performance, with modeled $P(k)_{\text{MG}}$ being now accurate to within 5% all the way to non-linear scales of $k \lesssim 2.5-3$ $h/\,\mbox{Mpc}$. The magnitude of deviations from GR as fostered by these MG models is typically $\mathcal{O}(10\%)$ in these regimes. Therefore reaching 5% PS modeling is enough for forecasting constraints on modern-era cosmological observables. △ Less

Submitted 8 October, 2024; v1 submitted 27 January, 2023; originally announced January 2023.

Constrained simulations of the local Universe with Modified Gravity

Authors: Krishna Naidoo, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki, Noam Libeskind, Simon Pfeifer, Yehuda Hoffman

Abstract: We present a methodology for constructing modified gravity (MG) constrained simulations of the local Universe using positions and peculiar velocities from the CosmicFlows data set. Our analysis focuses on the following MG models: the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) model and Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$ model. We develop a model independent methodology for constructing constrained simulat… ▽ More We present a methodology for constructing modified gravity (MG) constrained simulations of the local Universe using positions and peculiar velocities from the CosmicFlows data set. Our analysis focuses on the following MG models: the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) model and Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$ model. We develop a model independent methodology for constructing constrained simulations with any given power spectra and numerically calculated linear growth functions. Initial conditions (ICs) for a set of constrained simulations are constructed for the standard cosmological model $Λ$CDM and the MG models. Differences between the model's reconstructed Wiener filtered density and the resultant simulation density are presented showing the importance for the generation of MG constrained ICs to study the subtle effects of MG in the local Universe. These are the first MG constrained simulations ever produced. The current work paves the way to improved approximate methods for models with scale-dependent growth functions, such as $f(R)$, and for high-resolution hydrodynamical MG zoom-in simulations of the local Universe. △ Less

Submitted 24 February, 2023; v1 submitted 28 September, 2022; originally announced September 2022.

Comments: 10 pages (+references), 6 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. D

Dark matter solution to the $H_{0}$ and $S_{8}$ tensions, and the integrated Sachs-Wolfe void anomaly

Authors: Krishna Naidoo, Mariana Jaber, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: We consider a phenomenological model of dark matter with an equation-of-state $w$ that is negative and changing at late times. We show this couples the $H_{0}$ and $S_{8}$ tensions, alleviating them both simultaneously, reducing the $H_{0}$ tension from $\sim5σ$ to $\sim3σ$ and the $S_{8}$ tension from $\sim3σ$ to $\sim1σ$. Furthermore, the model provides an explanation for the anomalously large i… ▽ More We consider a phenomenological model of dark matter with an equation-of-state $w$ that is negative and changing at late times. We show this couples the $H_{0}$ and $S_{8}$ tensions, alleviating them both simultaneously, reducing the $H_{0}$ tension from $\sim5σ$ to $\sim3σ$ and the $S_{8}$ tension from $\sim3σ$ to $\sim1σ$. Furthermore, the model provides an explanation for the anomalously large integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect from cosmic voids, a unique consequence of the changing and negative equation-of-state. Observations of high ISW from cosmic voids may therefore be evidence that dark matter plays a significant role in both the $H_{0}$ and $S_{8}$ tensions. We predict the ISW from cosmic voids to be a factor of up to $\sim2$ greater in this model than what is expected from the standard model $Λ$CDM. These results extend to other degenerate models of dark matter, such as unified or interacting dark matter and dark energy models. △ Less

Submitted 13 April, 2024; v1 submitted 16 September, 2022; originally announced September 2022.

Comments: 9 pages (+references), 7 figures, published in Physical Review D

Galaxy and halo angular clustering in LCDM and Modified Gravity cosmologies

Authors: Paweł Drozda, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: Using a suite of $N$-body simulations we study the angular clustering of galaxies, halos, and dark matter in $\mathrm{Λ\text{CDM}}$ and Modified Gravity (MG) scenarios. We consider two general categories of such MG models, one is the $f(R)$ gravity, and the other is the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati brane world (nDGP). To measure angular clustering we construct a set of observer-fra… ▽ More Using a suite of $N$-body simulations we study the angular clustering of galaxies, halos, and dark matter in $\mathrm{Λ\text{CDM}}$ and Modified Gravity (MG) scenarios. We consider two general categories of such MG models, one is the $f(R)$ gravity, and the other is the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati brane world (nDGP). To measure angular clustering we construct a set of observer-frame lightcones and resulting mock sky catalogs. We focus on the area-averaged angular correlation functions, $W_J$, and the associated reduced cumulants, $S_J\equiv W_J/W_2^{(J-1)}$, and robustly measure them up to the 9th order using counts-in-cells (CIC). We find that $0.15 < z < 0.3$ is the optimal redshift range to maximize the MG signal in our lightcones. Analyzing various scales for the two types of statistics, we identify up to 20\% relative departures in MG measurements from general relativity (GR), with varying signal significance. For the case of halos and galaxies, we find that $3$rd order statistics offer the most sensitive probe of the different structure formation scenarios, with both $W_3$ and the reduced skewness, $S_3$, reaching from $2σ$ to $4σ$ significance at angular scales $θ\sim 0.13 ^\circ$. The MG clustering of the smooth dark matter field is characterized by even stronger deviations ($\stackrel{>}{{}_\sim} 5σ$) from GR, albeit at a bit smaller scales of $θ\sim0.08^\circ$, where baryonic physics is already important. Finally, we stress out that our mock halo and galaxy catalogs are characterized by rather low surface number densities when compared to existing and forthcoming state-of-the-art photometric surveys. This opens up exciting potential for testing GR and MG using angular clustering in future applications, with even higher precision and significance than reported here. △ Less

Submitted 21 May, 2026; v1 submitted 11 April, 2022; originally announced April 2022.

Comments: 15 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, final version reflecting the one accepted for publication in PRD

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 106, 043513 (2022)

COWS: A filament finder for Hessian cosmic web identifiers

Authors: Simon Pfeifer, Noam I. Libeskind, Yehuda Hoffman, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki, Krishna Naidoo

Abstract: The large scale galaxy and matter distribution is often described by means of the cosmic web made up of voids, sheets, filaments and knots. Many different recipes exist for identifying this cosmic web. Here we focus on a sub-class of cosmic web identifiers, based on the analysis of the Hessian matrix, and proposed a method, called COsmic Web Skeleton (COWS), of separating a set of filaments cells… ▽ More The large scale galaxy and matter distribution is often described by means of the cosmic web made up of voids, sheets, filaments and knots. Many different recipes exist for identifying this cosmic web. Here we focus on a sub-class of cosmic web identifiers, based on the analysis of the Hessian matrix, and proposed a method, called COsmic Web Skeleton (COWS), of separating a set of filaments cells into an ensemble of individual discreet filaments. Specifically, a thinning algorithm is applied to velocity shear tensor based cosmic web (V-web) to identify the spine of the filaments. This results in a set of filaments with well defined end-point and length. It is confirmed that these sit at local density ridges and align with the appropriate direction defined by the underlying velocity field. The radial density profile of these curved cylindrical filaments, as well as the distribution of their lengths is also examined. The robustness of all results is checked against resolution and the V-web threshold. The code for the COWS method has been made publicly available. △ Less

Submitted 12 January, 2022; originally announced January 2022.

Comments: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Universality of the halo mass function in modified gravity cosmologies

Authors: Suhani Gupta, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki, Jorge Enrique García-Farieta

Abstract: We study the halo mass function (HMF) in modified gravity (MG) models using a set of large $N$-body simulations -- the ELEPHANT suite. We consider two popular beyond-general relativity scenarios: the Hu-Sawicki chameleon $f(R)$ model and the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati braneworld (nDGP). We show that in MG, analytic formulation based on the Press-Schechter framework offers a gross… ▽ More We study the halo mass function (HMF) in modified gravity (MG) models using a set of large $N$-body simulations -- the ELEPHANT suite. We consider two popular beyond-general relativity scenarios: the Hu-Sawicki chameleon $f(R)$ model and the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati braneworld (nDGP). We show that in MG, analytic formulation based on the Press-Schechter framework offers a grossly inaccurate description of the HMF. We find, however, that once the HMF is expressed in terms of the dimensionless multiplicity function, it approximately assumes a redshift-independent universal character for all the models. Exploiting this property, we propose universal fits for the MG HMF in terms of their fractional departures from the $\mathrm{Λ\text{CDM}}$ case. We find two enclosed formulas, one for $f(R)$ and another for nDGP, that provide a reliable description of the HMF over the mass range covered by the simulations. These are accurate to a few percent with respect to the $N$-body data. We test the extrapolation potential of our fits against separate simulations with a different cosmological background and mass resolution, and find very good accuracy, within $\sim 10\%$. A particularly interesting finding from our analysis is a Gaussian-like shape of the HMF deviation that seems to appear universally across the whole $f(R)$ family, peaking at a mass variance scale characteristic for each $f(R)$ variant. We attribute this behavior to the specific physics of the environmentally-dependent chameleon screening models. △ Less

Submitted 18 March, 2022; v1 submitted 7 December, 2021; originally announced December 2021.

Comments: 16 pages and 8 figures

Journal ref: Physical Review D, Volume 105, Issue 4, article id.043538 (2022)

The spatial distribution of Milky Way satellites, gaps in streams and the nature of dark matter

Authors: Mark R. Lovell, Marius Cautun, Carlos S. Frenk, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Oliver Newton

Abstract: The spatial distribution of Milky Way (MW) subhaloes provides an important set of observables for testing cosmological models. These include the radial distribution of luminous satellites, planar configurations, and the abundance of dark subhaloes whose existence or absence is key to distinguishing amongst dark matter models. We use the COCO $N$-body simulations of cold dark matter (CDM) and 3.3ke… ▽ More The spatial distribution of Milky Way (MW) subhaloes provides an important set of observables for testing cosmological models. These include the radial distribution of luminous satellites, planar configurations, and the abundance of dark subhaloes whose existence or absence is key to distinguishing amongst dark matter models. We use the COCO $N$-body simulations of cold dark matter (CDM) and 3.3keV thermal relic warm dark matter (WDM) to predict the satellite spatial distribution in the limit that the impact of baryonic physics is minimal. We demonstrate that the radial distributions of CDM and 3.3keV-WDM luminous satellites are identical if the minimum pre-infall halo mass to form a galaxy is $>10^{8.5}\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$. The distribution of dark subhaloes is significantly more concentrated in WDM due to the absence of low mass, recently accreted substructures that typically inhabit the outer parts of a MW halo in CDM. We show that subhaloes of mass $[10^{7},10^{8}]\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ and within 30kpc of the centre are the stripped remnants of larger haloes in both models. Therefore their abundance in WDM is $3\times$ higher than one would anticipate from the overall WDM subhalo population. We estimate that differences between CDM and WDM concentration-mass relations can be probed for subhalo-stream impact parameters $<2$kpc. Finally, we find that the impact of WDM on planes of satellites is likely negligible. Comprehensive comparisons with observations will require further work with high resolution, self-consistent hydrodynamical simulations. △ Less

Submitted 8 February, 2023; v1 submitted 7 April, 2021; originally announced April 2021.

Comments: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted version of paper. Contact: lovell@hi.is

Probing gravity with redshift-space distortions: effects of tracer bias and sample selection

Authors: Jorge Enrique García-Farieta, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Suhani Gupta, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: We investigate clustering properties of dark matter halos and galaxies to search for optimal statistics and scales where possible departures from general relativity (GR) could be found. We use large N-body cosmological simulations to perform measurements based on the two-point correlation function (2PCF) in GR and in selected modified gravity (MG) structure formation scenarios. As a test-bed, we e… ▽ More We investigate clustering properties of dark matter halos and galaxies to search for optimal statistics and scales where possible departures from general relativity (GR) could be found. We use large N-body cosmological simulations to perform measurements based on the two-point correlation function (2PCF) in GR and in selected modified gravity (MG) structure formation scenarios. As a test-bed, we employ two popular beyond-GR models: $f(R)$ gravity and the normal branch of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) braneworld. We study a range of simulated halo and galaxy populations and reveal a noticeable MG signal in the monopole and quadrupole moments of the redshift-space 2PCF, and in the so-called clustering wedges. However, once expressed in terms of the linear distortion parameter, $β$, the statistical significance of these signals largely diminishes due to a strong degeneracy between MG-enhanced clustering and modified tracer bias. To circumvent this, we consider statistics less dependent on the bias: relative clustering ratios. We generalize the monopole ratio proposed in earlier work to multipole moments and clustering wedges, and introduce a new estimator of the $β$ parameter. The clustering ratios we extract foster noticeable differences between MG and GR models, reaching a maximum deviation of 10\% at 2$σ$ significance for specific variants of $f(R)$ and nDGP. We show that such departures could be measured for $β$ if non-linear effects at intermediate scales are correctly modeled. Our study indicates that the clustering ratios give great promise to search for signatures of MG in the large-scale structure. We also find that the selection of an optimal tracer sample depends on a particular statistics and gravity model to be considered. △ Less

Submitted 20 May, 2021; v1 submitted 25 March, 2021; originally announced March 2021.

Comments: 25 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, added references, matches published version

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 103, 103524 (2021)

Caught in the cosmic web: Environmental effect on halo concentrations, shape, and spin

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing, Marius Cautun, Rien van de Weygaert, Bernard T. Jones

Abstract: Using a set of high-resolution simulations we study the statistical correlation of dark matter halo properties with the large-scale environment. We consider halo populations split into four Cosmic Web (CW) elements: voids, walls, filaments, and nodes. For the first time we present a study of CW effects for halos covering six decades in mass: $10^{8}-10^{14}{h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}}$. We find that th… ▽ More Using a set of high-resolution simulations we study the statistical correlation of dark matter halo properties with the large-scale environment. We consider halo populations split into four Cosmic Web (CW) elements: voids, walls, filaments, and nodes. For the first time we present a study of CW effects for halos covering six decades in mass: $10^{8}-10^{14}{h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}}$. We find that the fraction of halos living in various web components is a strong function of mass, with the majority of $M>10^{12}{h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}}$ halos living in filaments and nodes. Low mass halos are more equitably distributed in filaments, walls, and voids. For halo density profiles and formation times we find a universal mass threshold of $M_{th}\sim6\times10^{10}{h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}}$ below which these properties vary with environment. Here, filament halos have the steepest concentration-mass relation, walls are close to the overall mean, and void halos have the flattest relation. This amounts to $c_{200}$ for filament and void halos that are respectively $14\%$ higher and $7\%$ lower than the mean at $M=2\times10^8{h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}}$, with low-mass node halos being most likely splashed-back. We find double power-law fits that very well describe $c(M)$ for the four environments in the whole probed mass range. A complementary picture is found for the average formation times, with the mass-formation time relations following trends shown for the concentrations: the nodes halos being the oldest and void halo the youngest. The CW environmental effect is much weaker when studying the halo spin and shapes. The trends with halo mass is reversed: the small halos with $M<10^{10}{h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}}$ seem to be unaffected by the CW environment. Some weak trends are visible for more massive void and walls halos, which, on average, are characterized by lower spin and higher triaxiality parameters. △ Less

Submitted 22 March, 2021; v1 submitted 17 November, 2020; originally announced November 2020.

Comments: 18 pages, 9 figures, match the published version in Physical Review D eid. 063517

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 103, 063517 (2021)

Testing the theory of gravity with DESI: estimators, predictions and simulation requirements

Authors: Shadab Alam, Christian Arnold, Alejandro Aviles, Rachel Bean, Yan-Chuan Cai, Marius Cautun, Jorge L. Cervantes-Cota, Carolina Cuesta-Lazaro, N. Chandrachani Devi, Alexander Eggemeier, Sebastien Fromenteau, Alma X. Gonzalez-Morales, Vitali Halenka, Jian-hua He, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Cesar Hernandez-Aguayo, Mustapha Ishak, Kazuya Koyama, Baojiu Li, Axel de la Macorra, Jennifer Menesses Rizo, Christopher Miller, Eva-Maria Mueller, Gustavo Niz, Pierros Ntelis , et al. (11 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: Shortly after its discovery, General Relativity (GR) was applied to predict the behavior of our Universe on the largest scales, and later became the foundation of modern cosmology. Its validity has been verified on a range of scales and environments from the Solar system to merging black holes. However, experimental confirmations of GR on cosmological scales have so far lacked the accuracy one wou… ▽ More Shortly after its discovery, General Relativity (GR) was applied to predict the behavior of our Universe on the largest scales, and later became the foundation of modern cosmology. Its validity has been verified on a range of scales and environments from the Solar system to merging black holes. However, experimental confirmations of GR on cosmological scales have so far lacked the accuracy one would hope for -- its applications on those scales being largely based on extrapolation and its validity sometimes questioned in the shadow of the unexpected cosmic acceleration. Future astronomical instruments surveying the distribution and evolution of galaxies over substantial portions of the observable Universe, such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), will be able to measure the fingerprints of gravity and their statistical power will allow strong constraints on alternatives to GR. In this paper, based on a set of $N$-body simulations and mock galaxy catalogs, we study the predictions of a number of traditional and novel estimators beyond linear redshift distortions in two well-studied modified gravity models, chameleon $f(R)$ gravity and a braneworld model, and the potential of testing these deviations from GR using DESI. These estimators employ a wide array of statistical properties of the galaxy and the underlying dark matter field, including two-point and higher-order statistics, environmental dependence, redshift space distortions and weak lensing. We find that they hold promising power for testing GR to unprecedented precision. The major future challenge is to make realistic, simulation-based mock galaxy catalogs for both GR and alternative models to fully exploit the statistic power of the DESI survey and to better understand the impact of key systematic effects. Using these, we identify future simulation and analysis needs for gravity tests using DESI. △ Less

Submitted 8 October, 2021; v1 submitted 11 November, 2020; originally announced November 2020.

Comments: 69 pages, 36 figures, 6 tables; accepted for publication in JCAP. The modified gravity HOD galaxy catalogues used in this paper can be downloaded from http://icc.dur.ac.uk/data/, by searching for the title of this paper from the dataset table

The skewness of z=0.5 redshift-space galaxy distribution in Modified Gravity

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: We study the reduced skewness, $S_{3,g}\equiv\barξ_{3,g}/\barξ_{2,g}^2$ of galaxy distribution at $z=0.5$ in two families of modfied gravity models: the Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$-gravity and normal-branch of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) models. We use a set of mock galaxy catalogues specifally designed to match CMASS spectroscopic galaxy sample. For the first time we investigate the third reduced moment… ▽ More We study the reduced skewness, $S_{3,g}\equiv\barξ_{3,g}/\barξ_{2,g}^2$ of galaxy distribution at $z=0.5$ in two families of modfied gravity models: the Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$-gravity and normal-branch of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) models. We use a set of mock galaxy catalogues specifally designed to match CMASS spectroscopic galaxy sample. For the first time we investigate the third reduced moment of such galaxy distributions both in the redshift space. Our analysis confirms that the signal previously indicated only for dark matter halo catalogues persists also in realistic mock galaxy samples. This result offers a possibility to extract a potential modified gravity signal in $S_3$ from spectroscopic galaxy data without a need for a very precise and self-consistent RSD models constructed for each and every modified gravity scenario separately. We show that the relative deviations from $Λ$CDM~ $S_{3,g}$ of various modified gravity models can vary from $7$ down to $\sim 2-3\%$ effects. Albeit, the effect looks small, we show that for considered models it can foster a $2-3σ$ falsification. Finally we argue that galaxy sample of a significantly higher number density should provide even stronger constraints by limiting shot-noise effects affecting the $S_{3,g}$ estimates at small comoving separations. △ Less

Submitted 2 January, 2020; v1 submitted 30 December, 2019; originally announced December 2019.

Comments: 8 pages, 4 figures, proceedings from the XXXIX-th general assembly of the Polish Astronomical Society, September 2019, Olsztyn, Poland

Simulating the dark matter decay signal from the Perseus galaxy cluster

Authors: Mark R. Lovell, Dmytro Iakubovskyi, David Barnes, Sownak Bose, Carlos S. Frenk, Tom Theuns, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: The nearby Perseus galaxy cluster is a key target for indirect detection searches for decaying dark matter. We use the C-EAGLE simulations of galaxy clusters to predict the flux, width and shape of a dark matter decay line, paying particular attention to the unexplained 3.55keV line detected in the spectra of some galaxies and clusters, and the upcoming XRISM X-ray observatory mission. We show tha… ▽ More The nearby Perseus galaxy cluster is a key target for indirect detection searches for decaying dark matter. We use the C-EAGLE simulations of galaxy clusters to predict the flux, width and shape of a dark matter decay line, paying particular attention to the unexplained 3.55keV line detected in the spectra of some galaxies and clusters, and the upcoming XRISM X-ray observatory mission. We show that the line width in C-EAGLE clusters similar to Perseus is typically [600-800]$\mathrm{kms^{-1}}$, and therefore narrower than the amplitude of the velocity dispersion of galaxies in the cluster. Haloes that are significantly disturbed can, however, exhibit galaxy velocity dispersions higher than $1000\mathrm{kms^{-1}}$, and in this case will show a large difference between the line profiles of on- and off-center observations. We show that the line profile is likely to be slightly asymmetric, but still well approximated by a Gaussian at the 10% level, and that the halo asymmetry can lead to fluxes that vary by a factor of two. In summary, we predict that, if the previously reported 3.55keV line detections do originate from dark matter decay, the XRISM mission will detect a line with a roughly Gaussian profile at a rest frame energy of 3.55keV, with a width $>600\mathrm{kms^{-1}}$ and flux approximately in the range $[4-9]\times10^{-8}\mathrm{counts/sec/cm^{2}}$. △ Less

Submitted 27 March, 2019; originally announced March 2019.

Comments: 6 pages and 3 figures, plus 5 pages and 6 figures in supplemental material. Accepted for publication in ApJL

Uneven flows: On cosmic bulk flows, local observers, and gravity

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing, Maciej Bilicki, Noam I. Libeskind

Abstract: Using N-body simulations we study the impact of various systematic effects on the bulk flow (BF) and the Cosmic Mach Number (CMN). We consider two types of systematics: those related to survey properties and those induced by observer's location in the Universe. In the former category we model sparse sampling, velocity errors, and survey incompleteness. In the latter, we consider Local Group (LG) a… ▽ More Using N-body simulations we study the impact of various systematic effects on the bulk flow (BF) and the Cosmic Mach Number (CMN). We consider two types of systematics: those related to survey properties and those induced by observer's location in the Universe. In the former category we model sparse sampling, velocity errors, and survey incompleteness. In the latter, we consider Local Group (LG) analogue observers, placed in a specific location within the Cosmic Web, satisfying various observational criteria. We differentiate such LG observers from Copernican ones, who are at random locations. We report strong systematic effects on the measured BF and CMN induced by sparse sampling, velocity errors and radial incompleteness. For BF most of these effects exceed 10\% for scales $R\leq100h^{-1}$Mpc. For CMN some of these systematics can be catastrophically large ($>50\%$) also on bigger scales. Moreover, we find that the position of the observer in the Cosmic Web significantly affects the locally measured BF (CMN), with effects as large as $\sim20\%$ ($30\%)$ at $R\leq50h^{-1}$Mpc for a LG-like observer as compared to a random one. This effect is comparable to the sample variance. To highlight the importance of these systematics, we additionally study a model of modified gravity (MG) with $\sim15\%$ enhanced growth rate. We found that the systematic effects can mimic the modified gravity signal. The worst-case scenario is realized for a case of a LG-like observer, when the effects induced by local structures are degenerate with the enhanced growth rate fostered by MG. Our results indicate that dedicated constrained simulations and realistic mock galaxy catalogs will be absolutely necessary to fully benefit from the statistical power of the forthcoming peculiar velocity data from surveys such as TAIPAN, WALLABY, Cosmic Flows-4 and SKA. △ Less

Submitted 9 February, 2018; originally announced February 2018.

Comments: 20 pages, 9+2 figures, comments are welcomed

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 97, 103519 (2018)

Tracing the cosmic web

Authors: Noam I Libeskind, Rien van de Weygaert, Marius Cautun, Bridget Falck, Elmo Tempel, Tom Abel, Mehmet Alpaslan, Miguel A. Aragoon-Calvo, Jaime E. Forero-Romero, Roberto Gonzalez, Stefan Gottloober, Oliver Hahn, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Yehuda Hoffman, Bernard J. T. Jones, Francisco Kitaura, Alexander Knebe, Serena Manti, Mark Neyrinck, Sebastiaan E. Nuza, Nelson Padilla, Erwin Platen, Nesar Ramachandra, Aaron Robotham, Enn Saar , et al. (5 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The cosmic web is one of the most striking features of the distribution of galaxies and dark matter on the largest scales in the Universe. It is composed of dense regions packed full of galaxies, long filamentary bridges, flattened sheets and vast low density voids. The study of the cosmic web has focused primarily on the identification of such features, and on understanding the environmental effe… ▽ More The cosmic web is one of the most striking features of the distribution of galaxies and dark matter on the largest scales in the Universe. It is composed of dense regions packed full of galaxies, long filamentary bridges, flattened sheets and vast low density voids. The study of the cosmic web has focused primarily on the identification of such features, and on understanding the environmental effects on galaxy formation and halo assembly. As such, a variety of different methods have been devised to classify the cosmic web -- depending on the data at hand, be it numerical simulations, large sky surveys or other. In this paper we bring twelve of these methods together and apply them to the same data set in order to understand how they compare. In general these cosmic web classifiers have been designed with different cosmological goals in mind, and to study different questions. Therefore one would not {\it a priori} expect agreement between different techniques however, many of these methods do converge on the identification of specific features. In this paper we study the agreements and disparities of the different methods. For example, each method finds that knots inhabit higher density regions than filaments, etc. and that voids have the lowest densities. For a given web environment, we find substantial overlap in the density range assigned by each web classification scheme. We also compare classifications on a halo-by-halo basis; for example, we find that 9 of 12 methods classify around a third of group-mass haloes (i.e. $M_{\rm halo}\sim10^{13.5}h^{-1}M_{\odot}$) as being in filaments. Lastly, so that any future cosmic web classification scheme can be compared to the 12 methods used here, we have made all the data used in this paper public. △ Less

Submitted 8 May, 2017; originally announced May 2017.

Comments: 24 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to MN. Comments Welcome

Journal ref: MNRAS, 2018, volume 473, pages 1195-1217

Revealing modified gravity signal in matter and halo hierarchical clustering

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing, Kazuya Koyama, Benjamin Bose, Gong-Bo Zhao

Abstract: We use a set of N-body simulations employing a modified gravity (MG) model with Vainshtein screening to study matter and halo hierarchical clustering. As test-case scenarios we consider two normal branch Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) gravity models with mild and strong growth rate enhancement. We study higher-order correlation functions $ξ_n(R)$ up to $n=9$ and associated hierarchical amplitudes… ▽ More We use a set of N-body simulations employing a modified gravity (MG) model with Vainshtein screening to study matter and halo hierarchical clustering. As test-case scenarios we consider two normal branch Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) gravity models with mild and strong growth rate enhancement. We study higher-order correlation functions $ξ_n(R)$ up to $n=9$ and associated hierarchical amplitudes $S_n(R)\equivξ_n(R)/σ(R)^{2n-2}$. We find that the matter PDFs are strongly affected by the fifth-force on scales up to $50h^{-1}$Mpc, and the deviations from GR are maximised at $z=0$. For reduced cumulants $S_n$, we find that at small scales $R\leq10h^{-1}$Mpc the MG is characterised by lower values, with the deviation growing from $7\%$ in the reduced skewness up to even $40\%$ in $S_5$. To study the halo clustering we use a simple abundance matching and divide haloes into thee fixed number density samples. The halo two-point functions are weakly affected, with a relative boost of the order of a few percent appearing only at the smallest pair separations ($r\leq 5h^{-1}$Mpc). In contrast, we find a strong MG signal in $S_n(R)$'s, which are enhanced compared to GR. The strong model exhibits a $>3σ$ level signal at various scales for all halo samples and in all cumulants. In this context, we find that the reduced kurtosis to be an especially promising cosmological probe of MG. Even the mild nDGP model leaves a $3σ$ imprint at small scales $R\leq3h^{-1}$Mpc, while the stronger model deviates from a GR-signature at nearly all scales with a significance of $>5σ$. Since the signal is persistent in all halo samples and over a range of scales, we advocate that the reduced kurtosis estimated from galaxy catalogues can potentially constitute a strong MG-model discriminatory as well as GR self-consistency test. △ Less

Submitted 9 March, 2017; originally announced March 2017.

Comments: 19 pages, 11 figures, comments are welcome

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 96, 023515 (2017)

Theoretical Accuracy in Cosmological Growth Estimation

Authors: Benjamin Bose, Kazuya Koyama, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Gong-Bo Zhao, Hans A. Winther

Abstract: We elucidate the importance of the consistent treatment of gravity-model specific non-linearities when estimating the growth of cosmological structures from redshift space distortions (RSD). Within the context of standard perturbation theory (SPT), we compare the predictions of two theoretical templates with redshift space data from COLA (COmoving Lagrangian Acceleration) simulations in the normal… ▽ More We elucidate the importance of the consistent treatment of gravity-model specific non-linearities when estimating the growth of cosmological structures from redshift space distortions (RSD). Within the context of standard perturbation theory (SPT), we compare the predictions of two theoretical templates with redshift space data from COLA (COmoving Lagrangian Acceleration) simulations in the normal branch of DGP gravity (nDGP) and General Relativity (GR). Using COLA for these comparisons is validated using a suite of full N-body simulations for the same theories. The two theoretical templates correspond to the standard general relativistic perturbation equations and those same equations modelled within nDGP. Gravitational clustering non-linear effects are accounted for by modelling the power spectrum up to one loop order and redshift space clustering anisotropy is modelled using the Taruya, Nishimichi and Saito (TNS) RSD model. Using this approach, we attempt to recover the simulation's fiducial logarithmic growth parameter $f$. By assigning the simulation data with errors representing an idealised survey with a volume of $10\mbox{Gpc}^3/h^3$, we find the GR template is unable to recover fiducial $f$ to within 1$σ$ at $z=1$ when we match the data up to $k_{\rm max}=0.195h$/Mpc. On the other hand, the DGP template recovers the fiducial value within $1σ$. Further, we conduct the same analysis for sets of mock data generated for generalised models of modified gravity using SPT, where again we analyse the GR template's ability to recover the fiducial value. We find that for models with enhanced gravitational non-linearity, the theoretical bias of the GR template becomes significant for stage IV surveys. Thus, we show that for the future large data volume galaxy surveys, the self-consistent modelling of non-GR gravity scenarios will be crucial in constraining theory parameters. △ Less

Submitted 2 June, 2017; v1 submitted 8 February, 2017; originally announced February 2017.

Comments: 27 pages, 19 figures. Improved analysis using 20 x 1Gpc^3/h^3 MG-PICOLA simulations for nDGP and GR cosmologies. New appendix validating use of MG-PICOLA in the analysis and hence validating our conclusions. 3 new figures in main text (4,5,12) illustrating non-linearity. New Tables. I,II,III summarizing template performances. Cosmetic changes made to accommodate new data and analysis

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 96, 023519 (2017)

The galaxy population in cold and warm dark matter cosmologies

Authors: Lan Wang, Violeta Gonzalez-Perez, Lizhi Xie, Andrew P. Cooper, Carlos S. Frenk, Liang Gao, Wojciech A. Hellwing, John Helly, Mark R. Lovell, Lilian Jiang

Abstract: We use a pair of high resolution N-body simulations implementing two dark matter models, namely the standard cold dark matter (CDM) cosmogony and a warm dark matter (WDM) alternative where the dark matter particle is a 1.5keV thermal relic. We combine these simulations with the GALFORM semi-analytical galaxy formation model in order to explore differences between the resulting galaxy populations.… ▽ More We use a pair of high resolution N-body simulations implementing two dark matter models, namely the standard cold dark matter (CDM) cosmogony and a warm dark matter (WDM) alternative where the dark matter particle is a 1.5keV thermal relic. We combine these simulations with the GALFORM semi-analytical galaxy formation model in order to explore differences between the resulting galaxy populations. We use GALFORM model variants for CDM and WDM that result in the same z=0 galaxy stellar mass function by construction. We find that most of the studied galaxy properties have the same values in these two models, indicating that both dark matter scenarios match current observational data equally well. Even in under-dense regions, where discrepancies in structure formation between CDM and WDM are expected to be most pronounced, the galaxy properties are only slightly different. The only significant difference in the local universe we find is in the galaxy populations of "Local Volumes", regions of radius 1 to 8Mpc around simulated Milky Way analogues. In such regions our WDM model provides a better match to observed local galaxy number counts and is five times more likely than the CDM model to predict sub-regions within them that are as empty as the observed Local Void. Thus, a highly complete census of the Local Volume and future surveys of void regions could provide constraints on the nature of dark matter. △ Less

Submitted 4 April, 2017; v1 submitted 14 December, 2016; originally announced December 2016.

Comments: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted by MNRAS

Real- and redshift-space halo clustering in $f(R)$ cosmologies

Authors: Pablo Arnalte-Mur, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Peder Norberg

Abstract: We present two-point correlation function statistics of the mass and the halos in the chameleon $f(R)$ modified gravity scenario using a series of large volume N-body simulations. Three distinct variations of $f(R)$ are considered (F4, F5 and F6) and compared to a fiducial $Λ$CDM model in the redshift range $z \in [0,1]$. We find that the matter clustering is indistinguishable for all models excep… ▽ More We present two-point correlation function statistics of the mass and the halos in the chameleon $f(R)$ modified gravity scenario using a series of large volume N-body simulations. Three distinct variations of $f(R)$ are considered (F4, F5 and F6) and compared to a fiducial $Λ$CDM model in the redshift range $z \in [0,1]$. We find that the matter clustering is indistinguishable for all models except for F4, which shows a significantly steeper slope. The ratio of the redshift- to real-space correlation function at scales $> 20 h^{-1} \mathrm{Mpc}$ agrees with the linear General Relativity (GR) Kaiser formula for the viable $f(R)$ models considered. We consider three halo populations characterized by spatial abundances comparable to that of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) and galaxy clusters. The redshift-space halo correlation functions of F4 and F5 deviate significantly from $Λ$CDM at intermediate and high redshift, as the $f(R)$ halo bias is smaller or equal to that of the $Λ$CDM case. Finally we introduce a new model independent clustering statistic to distinguish $f(R)$ from GR: the relative halo clustering ratio -- $\mathcal{R}$. The sampling required to adequately reduce the scatter in $\mathcal{R}$ will be available with the advent of the next generation galaxy redshift surveys. This will foster a prospective avenue to obtain largely model-independent cosmological constraints on this class of modified gravity models. △ Less

Submitted 20 January, 2017; v1 submitted 7 December, 2016; originally announced December 2016.

Comments: 17 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. v2: Version accepted for publication in MNRAS, includes minor text additions

Journal ref: MNRAS, Volume 467, pp. 1569-1585 (2017)

Speeding up $N$-body simulations of modified gravity: Chameleon screening models

Authors: Sownak Bose, Baojiu Li, Alexandre Barreira, Jian-hua He, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Kazuya Koyama, Claudio Llinares, Gong-Bo Zhao

Abstract: We describe and demonstrate the potential of a new and very efficient method for simulating certain classes of modified gravity theories, such as the widely studied $f(R)$ gravity models. High resolution simulations for such models are currently very slow due to the highly nonlinear partial differential equation that needs to be solved exactly to predict the modified gravitational force. This nonl… ▽ More We describe and demonstrate the potential of a new and very efficient method for simulating certain classes of modified gravity theories, such as the widely studied $f(R)$ gravity models. High resolution simulations for such models are currently very slow due to the highly nonlinear partial differential equation that needs to be solved exactly to predict the modified gravitational force. This nonlinearity is partly inherent, but is also exacerbated by the specific numerical algorithm used, which employs a variable redefinition to prevent numerical instabilities. The standard Newton-Gauss-Seidel iterative method used to tackle this problem has a poor convergence rate. Our new method not only avoids this, but also allows the discretised equation to be written in a form that is analytically solvable. We show that this new method greatly improves the performance and efficiency of $f(R)$ simulations. For example, a test simulation with $512^3$ particles in a box of size $512 \, \mathrm{Mpc}/h$ is now 5 times faster than before, while a Millennium-resolution simulation for $f(R)$ gravity is estimated to be more than 20 times faster than with the old method. Our new implementation will be particularly useful for running very high resolution, large-sized simulations which, to date, are only possible for the standard model, and also makes it feasible to run large numbers of lower resolution simulations for covariance analyses. We hope that the method will bring us to a new era for precision cosmological tests of gravity. △ Less

Submitted 12 March, 2017; v1 submitted 28 November, 2016; originally announced November 2016.

Comments: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; version accepted for publication in JCAP

The DESI Experiment Part II: Instrument Design

Authors: DESI Collaboration, Amir Aghamousa, Jessica Aguilar, Steve Ahlen, Shadab Alam, Lori E. Allen, Carlos Allende Prieto, James Annis, Stephen Bailey, Christophe Balland, Otger Ballester, Charles Baltay, Lucas Beaufore, Chris Bebek, Timothy C. Beers, Eric F. Bell, José Luis Bernal, Robert Besuner, Florian Beutler, Chris Blake, Hannes Bleuler, Michael Blomqvist, Robert Blum, Adam S. Bolton, Cesar Briceno , et al. (268 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: DESI (Dark Energy Spectropic Instrument) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will study baryon acoustic oscillations and the growth of structure through redshift-space distortions with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey. The DESI instrument is a robotically-actuated, fiber-fed spectrograph capable of taking up to 5,000 simultaneous spectra over a wavelength range from… ▽ More DESI (Dark Energy Spectropic Instrument) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will study baryon acoustic oscillations and the growth of structure through redshift-space distortions with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey. The DESI instrument is a robotically-actuated, fiber-fed spectrograph capable of taking up to 5,000 simultaneous spectra over a wavelength range from 360 nm to 980 nm. The fibers feed ten three-arm spectrographs with resolution $R= λ/Δλ$ between 2000 and 5500, depending on wavelength. The DESI instrument will be used to conduct a five-year survey designed to cover 14,000 deg$^2$. This powerful instrument will be installed at prime focus on the 4-m Mayall telescope in Kitt Peak, Arizona, along with a new optical corrector, which will provide a three-degree diameter field of view. The DESI collaboration will also deliver a spectroscopic pipeline and data management system to reduce and archive all data for eventual public use. △ Less

Submitted 13 December, 2016; v1 submitted 31 October, 2016; originally announced November 2016.

The DESI Experiment Part I: Science,Targeting, and Survey Design

Authors: DESI Collaboration, Amir Aghamousa, Jessica Aguilar, Steve Ahlen, Shadab Alam, Lori E. Allen, Carlos Allende Prieto, James Annis, Stephen Bailey, Christophe Balland, Otger Ballester, Charles Baltay, Lucas Beaufore, Chris Bebek, Timothy C. Beers, Eric F. Bell, José Luis Bernal, Robert Besuner, Florian Beutler, Chris Blake, Hannes Bleuler, Michael Blomqvist, Robert Blum, Adam S. Bolton, Cesar Briceno , et al. (268 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will study baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and the growth of structure through redshift-space distortions with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey. To trace the underlying dark matter distribution, spectroscopic targets will be selected in four classes from imaging data. We will measure… ▽ More DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will study baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and the growth of structure through redshift-space distortions with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey. To trace the underlying dark matter distribution, spectroscopic targets will be selected in four classes from imaging data. We will measure luminous red galaxies up to $z=1.0$. To probe the Universe out to even higher redshift, DESI will target bright [O II] emission line galaxies up to $z=1.7$. Quasars will be targeted both as direct tracers of the underlying dark matter distribution and, at higher redshifts ($ 2.1 < z < 3.5$), for the Ly-$α$ forest absorption features in their spectra, which will be used to trace the distribution of neutral hydrogen. When moonlight prevents efficient observations of the faint targets of the baseline survey, DESI will conduct a magnitude-limited Bright Galaxy Survey comprising approximately 10 million galaxies with a median $z\approx 0.2$. In total, more than 30 million galaxy and quasar redshifts will be obtained to measure the BAO feature and determine the matter power spectrum, including redshift space distortions. △ Less

Submitted 13 December, 2016; v1 submitted 31 October, 2016; originally announced November 2016.

Properties of Local Group galaxies in hydrodynamical simulations of sterile neutrino dark matter cosmologies

Authors: Mark R. Lovell, Sownak Bose, Alexey Boyarsky, Robert A. Crain, Carlos S. Frenk, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Aaron D. Ludlow, Julio F. Navarro, Oleg Ruchayskiy, Till Sawala, Matthieu Schaller, Joop Schaye, Tom Theuns

Abstract: We study galaxy formation in sterile neutrino dark matter models that differ signifi- cantly from both cold and from `warm thermal relic' models. We use the EAGLE code to carry out hydrodynamic simulations of the evolution of pairs of galaxies chosen to resemble the Local Group, as part of the APOSTLE simulations project. We compare cold dark matter (CDM) with two sterile neutrino models with 7 ke… ▽ More We study galaxy formation in sterile neutrino dark matter models that differ signifi- cantly from both cold and from `warm thermal relic' models. We use the EAGLE code to carry out hydrodynamic simulations of the evolution of pairs of galaxies chosen to resemble the Local Group, as part of the APOSTLE simulations project. We compare cold dark matter (CDM) with two sterile neutrino models with 7 keV mass: one, the warmest among all models of this mass (LA120) and the other, a relatively cold case (LA10). We show that the lower concentration of sterile neutrino subhalos compared to their CDM counterparts makes the inferred inner dark matter content of galaxies like Fornax (or Magellanic Clouds) less of an outlier in the sterile neutrino cosmologies. In terms of the galaxy number counts the LA10 simulations are indistinguishable from CDM when one takes into account halo-to-halo (or `simulation-to-simulation') scatter. In order for the LA120 model to match the number of Local Group dwarf galaxies, a higher fraction of low mass haloes is required to form galaxies than is predicted by the EAGLE simulations. As the census of the Local Group galaxies nears completion, this population may provide a strong discriminant between cold and warm dark matter models. △ Less

Submitted 22 August, 2017; v1 submitted 31 October, 2016; originally announced November 2016.

Comments: 15 pages, 15 figures, revised version accepted to MNRAS with minor changes, contact: lovell@mpia.de

Not a Copernican observer: biased peculiar velocity statistics in the local Universe

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing, Adi Nusser, Martin Feix, Maciej Bilicki

Abstract: We assess the effect of the local large scale structure on the estimation of two-point statistics of the observed radial peculiar velocities of galaxies. A large N-body simulation is used to examine these statistics from the perspective of random observers as well as "Local Group (LG)-like" observers conditioned to reside in an environment resembling the observed universe within 20 Mpc. The local… ▽ More We assess the effect of the local large scale structure on the estimation of two-point statistics of the observed radial peculiar velocities of galaxies. A large N-body simulation is used to examine these statistics from the perspective of random observers as well as "Local Group (LG)-like" observers conditioned to reside in an environment resembling the observed universe within 20 Mpc. The local environment systematically distorts the shape and amplitude of velocity statistics with respect to ensemble-averaged measurements made by a Copernican (random) observer. The Virgo cluster has the most significant impact, introducing large systematic deviations in all the statistics. For a simple "top-hat" selection function, an idealized survey extending to $\sim 160h^{-1}\,{\rm Mpc}$ or deeper is needed to completely mitigate the effects of the local environment. Using shallower catalogues leads to systematic deviations of the order of $50$ to $200\%$ depending on the scale considered. For a flat redshift distribution similar to the one of the CosmicFlows-3 survey, the deviations are even more prominent in both the shape and amplitude at all separations considered $({\stackrel{<}{{}_\sim}} 100h^{-1}\,{\rm Mpc})$. Conclusions based on statistics calculated without taking into account the impact of the local environment should be revisited. △ Less

Submitted 22 September, 2016; originally announced September 2016.

Comments: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS, comments are welcome

Substructure and galaxy formation in the Copernicus Complexio warm dark matter simulations

Authors: Sownak Bose, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Carlos S. Frenk, Adrian Jenkins, Mark R. Lovell, John C. Helly, Baojiu Li, Violeta Gonzalez-Perez, Liang Gao

Abstract: We use the Copernicus Complexio (COCO) high resolution $N$-body simulations to investigate differences in the properties of small-scale structures in the standard cold dark matter (CDM) model and in a model with a cutoff in the initial power spectrum of density fluctuations consistent with both a thermally produced warm dark matter (WDM) particle or a sterile neutrino with mass 7 keV and leptogene… ▽ More We use the Copernicus Complexio (COCO) high resolution $N$-body simulations to investigate differences in the properties of small-scale structures in the standard cold dark matter (CDM) model and in a model with a cutoff in the initial power spectrum of density fluctuations consistent with both a thermally produced warm dark matter (WDM) particle or a sterile neutrino with mass 7 keV and leptogenesis parameter $L_6=8.7$. The latter corresponds to the "coldest" model with this sterile neutrino mass compatible with the identification of the recently detected 3.5 keV X-ray line as resulting from particle decay. CDM and WDM predict very different number densities of subhaloes with mass $\leq 10^9\,h^{-1}\,M_\odot$ although they predict similar, nearly universal, normalised subhalo radial density distributions. Haloes and subhaloes in both models have cuspy NFW profiles, but WDM subhaloes below the cutoff scale in the power spectrum (corresponding to maximum circular velocities $V_{\mathrm{max}}^{z=0} \leq50~\mathrm{kms}^{-1}$) are less concentrated than their CDM counterparts. We make predictions for observable properties using the GALFORM semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. Both models predict Milky Way satellite luminosity functions consistent with observations, although the WDM model predicts fewer very faint satellites. This model, however, predicts slightly more UV bright galaxies at redshift $z>7$ than CDM, but both are consistent with observations. Gravitational lensing offers the best prospect of distinguishing between the models. △ Less

Submitted 26 October, 2016; v1 submitted 25 April, 2016; originally announced April 2016.

Comments: 13 pages, 12 figures, MNRAS accepted version

The effect of baryons on redshift space distortions and cosmic density and velocity fields in the EAGLE simulation

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing, Matthieu Schaller, Carlos S. Frenk, Tom Theuns, Joop Schaye, Richard G. Bower, Robert A. Crain

Abstract: We use the EAGLE galaxy formation simulation to study the effects of baryons on the power spectrum of the total matter and dark matter distributions and on the velocity fields of dark matter and galaxies. On scales $k{\stackrel{>}{{}_\sim}} 4{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ the effect of baryons on the amplitude of the total matter power spectrum is greater than $1\%$. The back-reaction of baryons affects the… ▽ More We use the EAGLE galaxy formation simulation to study the effects of baryons on the power spectrum of the total matter and dark matter distributions and on the velocity fields of dark matter and galaxies. On scales $k{\stackrel{>}{{}_\sim}} 4{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ the effect of baryons on the amplitude of the total matter power spectrum is greater than $1\%$. The back-reaction of baryons affects the density field of the dark matter at the level of $\sim3\%$ on scales of $1\leq k/({h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}})\leq 5$. The dark matter velocity divergence power spectrum at $k{\stackrel{<}{{}_\sim}}0.5{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ is changed by less than $1\%$. The 2D redshift-space power spectrum is affected at the level of $\sim6\%$ at $|\vec{k}|{\stackrel{>}{{}_\sim}} 1{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ (for $μ>0.5$), but for $|\vec{k}|\leq 0.4{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ it differs by less than $1\%$. We report vanishingly small baryonic velocity bias for haloes: the peculiar velocities of haloes with $M_{200}>3\times10^{11}{{\rm M}_{\odot}}$ (hosting galaxies with $M_{*}>10^9{{\rm M}_{\odot}}$) are affected at the level of at most $1~$km/s, which is negligible for $1\%$-precision cosmology. We caution that since EAGLE overestimates cluster gas fractions it may also underestimate the impact of baryons, particularly for the total matter power spectrum. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that for theoretical modelling of redshift space distortions and galaxy velocity-based statistics, baryons and their back-reaction can be safely ignored at the current level of observational accuracy. However, we confirm that the modelling of the total matter power spectrum in weak lensing studies needs to include realistic galaxy formation physics in order to achieve the accuracy required in the precision cosmology era. △ Less

Submitted 1 May, 2016; v1 submitted 10 March, 2016; originally announced March 2016.

Comments: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRSL, figure 1 updated for readability, figure 2 changed (include now P^2(mu) at fixed k). Conclusions unchanged

The Mass-Concentration-Redshift Relation of Cold and Warm Dark Matter Halos

Authors: Aaron D. Ludlow, Sownak Bose, Raúl E. Angulo, Lan Wang, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Julio F. Navarro, Shaun Cole, Carlos S. Frenk

Abstract: We use a suite of cosmological simulations to study the mass-concentration-redshift relation, $c({\rm M},z)$, of dark matter halos. Our simulations include standard $Λ$-cold dark matter (CDM) models, and additional runs with truncated power spectra, consistent with a thermal warm dark matter (WDM) scenario. We find that the mass profiles of CDM and WDM halos are self-similar and well approximated… ▽ More We use a suite of cosmological simulations to study the mass-concentration-redshift relation, $c({\rm M},z)$, of dark matter halos. Our simulations include standard $Λ$-cold dark matter (CDM) models, and additional runs with truncated power spectra, consistent with a thermal warm dark matter (WDM) scenario. We find that the mass profiles of CDM and WDM halos are self-similar and well approximated by the Einasto profile. The $c({\rm M},z)$ relation of CDM halos is monotonic: concentrations decrease with increasing virial mass at fixed redshift, and decrease with increasing redshift at fixed mass. The mass accretion histories (MAHs) of CDM halos are also scale-free, and can be used to infer concentrations directly. These results do not apply to WDM halos: their MAHs are not scale-free because of the characteristic scale imposed by the power-spectrum suppression. Further, the WDM $c({\rm M},z)$ relation is non-monotonic: concentrations peak at a mass scale dictated by the truncation scale, and decrease at higher and lower masses. We show that the assembly history of a halo can still be used to infer its concentration, provided that the total mass of its progenitors is considered (the "collapsed mass history"; CMH), rather than just that of its main ancestor. This exploits the scale-free nature of CMHs to derive a simple scaling that reproduces the mass-concentration-redshift relation of both CDM and WDM halos over a vast range of halo masses and redshifts. Our model therefore provides a robust account of the mass, redshift, cosmology and power spectrum dependence of dark matter halo concentrations. △ Less

Submitted 10 May, 2016; v1 submitted 11 January, 2016; originally announced January 2016.

Comments: 21 pages, 16 figures

Constraints on the identity of the dark matter from strong gravitational lenses

Authors: Ran Li, Carlos S. Frenk, Shaun Cole, Liang Gao, Sownak Bose, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: The cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model unambigously predicts that a large number of haloes should survive as subhaloes when they are accreted into a larger halo. The CDM model would be ruled out if such substructures were shown not to exist. By contrast, if the dark matter consists of warm particles (WDM), then below a threshold mass that depends on the particle mass far fewer substructures… ▽ More The cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model unambigously predicts that a large number of haloes should survive as subhaloes when they are accreted into a larger halo. The CDM model would be ruled out if such substructures were shown not to exist. By contrast, if the dark matter consists of warm particles (WDM), then below a threshold mass that depends on the particle mass far fewer substructures would be present. Finding subhaloes below a certain mass would then rule out warm particle masses below some value. Strong gravitational lensing provides a clean method to measure the subhalo mass function through distortions in the structure of Einstein rings and giant arcs.Using mock lensing observations constructed from high-resolution N-body simulations, we show that measurements of approximately 100 strong lens systems with a detection limit of $10^7 h^{-1} M_{\odot}$ would clearly distinguish CDM from WDM in the case where this consists of 7 keV sterile neutrinos such as those that might be responsible for the 3.5 keV X-ray emission line recently detected in galaxies and clusters. △ Less

Submitted 5 April, 2016; v1 submitted 21 December, 2015; originally announced December 2015.

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to MNRAS, updated fig.2 - fig.4, corrected an error in the code

The COpernicus COmplexio: Statistical Properties of Warm Dark Matter Haloes

Authors: Sownak Bose, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Carlos S. Frenk, Adrian Jenkins, Mark R. Lovell, John C. Helly, Baojiu Li

Abstract: The recent detection of a 3.5 keV X-ray line from the centres of galaxies and clusters by Bulbul et al. (2014a) and Boyarsky et al. (2014a) has been interpreted as emission from the decay of 7 keV sterile neutrinos which could make up the (warm) dark matter (WDM). As part of the COpernicus COmplexio (COCO) programme, we investigate the properties of dark matter haloes formed in a high-resolution c… ▽ More The recent detection of a 3.5 keV X-ray line from the centres of galaxies and clusters by Bulbul et al. (2014a) and Boyarsky et al. (2014a) has been interpreted as emission from the decay of 7 keV sterile neutrinos which could make up the (warm) dark matter (WDM). As part of the COpernicus COmplexio (COCO) programme, we investigate the properties of dark matter haloes formed in a high-resolution cosmological $N$-body simulation from initial conditions similar to those expected in a universe in which the dark matter consists of 7 keV sterile neutrinos. This simulation and its cold dark matter (CDM) counterpart have $\sim13.4$bn particles, each of mass $\sim 10^5\, h^{-1} M_\odot$, providing detailed information about halo structure and evolution down to dwarf galaxy mass scales. Non-linear structure formation on small scales ($M_{200}\, \leq\, 2 \times 10^9\,h^{-1}\,M_\odot$) begins slightly later in COCO-Warm than in COCO-Cold. The halo mass function at the present day in the WDM model begins to drop below its CDM counterpart at a mass $\sim 2 \times 10^{9}\,h^{-1}\,M_\odot$ and declines very rapidly towards lower masses so that there are five times fewer haloes of mass $M_{200}= 10^{8}\,h^{-1}\,M_\odot$ in COCO-Warm than in COCO-Cold. Halo concentrations on dwarf galaxy scales are correspondingly smaller in COCO-Warm, and we provide a simple functional form that describes its evolution with redshift. The shapes of haloes are similar in the two cases, but the smallest haloes in COCO-Warm rotate slightly more slowly than their CDM counterparts. △ Less

Submitted 9 July, 2015; v1 submitted 7 July, 2015; originally announced July 2015.

Comments: 16 pages, 14 figures, replaced a typo in Table 1

Modified Gravity N-body Code Comparison Project

Authors: Hans A. Winther, Fabian Schmidt, Alexandre Barreira, Christian Arnold, Sownak Bose, Claudio Llinares, Marco Baldi, Bridget Falck, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Kazuya Koyama, Baojiu Li, David F. Mota, Ewald Puchwein, Robert E. Smith, Gong-Bo Zhao

Abstract: Self-consistent ${\it N}$-body simulations of modified gravity models are a key ingredient to obtain rigorous constraints on deviations from General Relativity using large-scale structure observations. This paper provides the first detailed comparison of the results of different ${\it N}$-body codes for the $f(R)$, DGP, and Symmetron models, starting from the same initial conditions. We find that… ▽ More Self-consistent ${\it N}$-body simulations of modified gravity models are a key ingredient to obtain rigorous constraints on deviations from General Relativity using large-scale structure observations. This paper provides the first detailed comparison of the results of different ${\it N}$-body codes for the $f(R)$, DGP, and Symmetron models, starting from the same initial conditions. We find that the fractional deviation of the matter power spectrum from $Λ$CDM agrees to better than $1\%$ up to $k \sim 5-10~h/{\rm Mpc}$ between the different codes. These codes are thus able to meet the stringent accuracy requirements of upcoming observational surveys. All codes are also in good agreement in their results for the velocity divergence power spectrum, halo abundances and halo profiles. We also test the quasi-static limit, which is employed in most modified gravity ${\it N}$-body codes, for the Symmetron model for which the most significant non-static effects among the models considered are expected. We conclude that this limit is a very good approximation for all of the observables considered here. △ Less

Submitted 29 September, 2015; v1 submitted 21 June, 2015; originally announced June 2015.

Comments: 31 pages, 16 figures. Version to appear in MNRAS

Planes of satellite galaxies: when exceptions are the rule

Authors: Marius Cautun, Sownak Bose, Carlos S. Frenk, Qi Guo, Jiaxin Han, Wojciech A. Hellwing, Till Sawala, Wenting Wang

Abstract: The detection of planar structures within the satellite systems of both the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) has been reported as being in stark contradiction to the predictions of the standard cosmological model ($Λ$CDM). Given the ambiguity in defining a planar configuration, it is unclear how to interpret the low incidence of the MW and M31 planes in $Λ$CDM. We investigate the prevalence of s… ▽ More The detection of planar structures within the satellite systems of both the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) has been reported as being in stark contradiction to the predictions of the standard cosmological model ($Λ$CDM). Given the ambiguity in defining a planar configuration, it is unclear how to interpret the low incidence of the MW and M31 planes in $Λ$CDM. We investigate the prevalence of satellite planes around galactic mass haloes identified in high resolution cosmological simulations. We find that planar structures are very common, and that ~10% of $Λ$CDM haloes have even more prominent planes than those present in the Local Group. While ubiquitous, the planes of satellite galaxies show a large diversity in their properties. This precludes using one or two systems as small scale probes of cosmology, since a large sample of satellite systems is needed to obtain a good measure of the object-to-object variation. This very diversity has been misinterpreted as a discrepancy between the satellite planes observed in the Local Group and $Λ$CDM predictions. In fact, ~10% of $Λ$CDM galactic haloes have planes of satellites that are as infrequent as the MW and M31 planes. The look-elsewhere effect plays an important role in assessing the detection significance of satellite planes and accounting for it leads to overestimating the significance level by a factor of 30 and 100 for the MW and M31 systems, respectively. △ Less

Submitted 7 August, 2015; v1 submitted 12 June, 2015; originally announced June 2015.

Comments: 13 pages, 15 figures, +3 pages appendix, MNRAS accepted version

Journal ref: MNRAS, 2015, 452 (4), 3838-3852

The Copernicus Complexio: a high-resolution view of the small-scale Universe

Authors: Wojciech A. Hellwing, Carlos S. Frenk, Marius Cautun, Sownak Bose, John Helly, Adrian Jenkins, Till Sawala, Maciej Cytowski

Abstract: We introduce Copernicus Complexio (COCO), a high-resolution cosmological N-body simulation of structure formation in the $Λ{\rm CDM}{}$ model. COCO follows an approximately spherical region of radius $\sim 17.4h^{-1}\,{\rm Mpc}$ embedded in a much larger periodic cube that is followed at lower resolution. The high resolution volume has a particle mass of $1.135\times10^5h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$ (60… ▽ More We introduce Copernicus Complexio (COCO), a high-resolution cosmological N-body simulation of structure formation in the $Λ{\rm CDM}{}$ model. COCO follows an approximately spherical region of radius $\sim 17.4h^{-1}\,{\rm Mpc}$ embedded in a much larger periodic cube that is followed at lower resolution. The high resolution volume has a particle mass of $1.135\times10^5h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$ (60 times higher than the Millennium-II simulation). COCO gives the dark matter halo mass function over eight orders of magnitude in halo mass; it forms $\sim 60$ haloes of galactic size, each resolved with about 10 million particles. We confirm the power-law character of the subhalo mass function, $\bar{N}(>μ)\proptoμ^{-s}$, down to a reduced subhalo mass $M_{sub}/M_{200}\equivμ=10^{-6}$, with a best-fit power-law index, $s=0.94$, for hosts of mass $\langle M_{200}\rangle=10^{12}h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$. The concentration-mass relation of COCO haloes deviates from a single power law for masses $M_{200}<\textrm{a few}\times 10^{8}h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$, where it flattens, in agreement with results by Sanchez-Conde et al. The host mass invariance of the reduced maximum circular velocity function of subhaloes, $ν\equiv V_{max}/V_{200}$, hinted at in previous simulations, is clearly demonstrated over five orders of magnitude in host mass. Similarly, we find that the average, normalised radial distribution of subhaloes is approximately universal (i.e. independent of subhalo mass), as previously suggested by the Aquarius simulations of individual haloes. Finally, we find that at fixed physical subhalo size, subhaloes in lower mass hosts typically have lower central densities than those in higher mass hosts. △ Less

Submitted 11 February, 2016; v1 submitted 24 May, 2015; originally announced May 2015.

Comments: 18 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables, version accepted for publication in MNRAS, figure 7 updated with a corrected data, minor changes to the text, conclusions unchanged

Exploring the liminality: properties of haloes and subhaloes in borderline $f(R)$ gravity

Authors: Difu Shi, Baojiu Li, Jiaxin Han, Liang Gao, Wojciech A. Hellwing

Abstract: We investigate the properties of dark matter haloes and subhaloes in an $f(R)$ gravity model with $|f_{R0}|=10^{-6}$, using a very high-resolution N-body simulation. The model is a borderline between being cosmologically interesting and yet still consistent with current data. We find that the halo mass function in this model has a maximum 20% enhancement compared with the $Λ$CDM predictions betwee… ▽ More We investigate the properties of dark matter haloes and subhaloes in an $f(R)$ gravity model with $|f_{R0}|=10^{-6}$, using a very high-resolution N-body simulation. The model is a borderline between being cosmologically interesting and yet still consistent with current data. We find that the halo mass function in this model has a maximum 20% enhancement compared with the $Λ$CDM predictions between $z=1$ and $z=0$. Because of the chameleon mechanism which screens the deviation from standard gravity in dense environments, haloes more massive than $10^{13}h^{-1}M_\odot$ in this $f(R)$ model have very similar properties to haloes of similar mass in $Λ$CDM, while less massive haloes, such as that of the Milky Way, can have steeper inner density profiles and higher velocity dispersions due to their weaker screening. The halo concentration is remarkably enhanced for low-mass haloes in this model due to a deepening of the total gravitational potential. Contrary to the naive expectation, the halo formation time $z_f$ is later for low-mass haloes in this model, a consequence of these haloes growing faster than their counterparts in $Λ$CDM at late times and the definition of $z_f$. Subhaloes, especially those less massive than $10^{11}h^{-1}M_\odot$, are substantially more abundant in this $f(R)$ model for host haloes less massive than $10^{13}h^{-1}M_\odot$. We discuss the implications of these results for the Milky Way satellite abundance problem. Although the overall halo and subhalo properties in this borderline $f(R)$ model are close to their $Λ$CDM predictions, our results suggest that studies of the Local Group and astrophysical systems, aided by high-resolution simulations, can be valuable for further tests of it. △ Less

Submitted 9 July, 2015; v1 submitted 3 March, 2015; originally announced March 2015.

Comments: 14 pages, 9 figures. Accepted to be published in MNRAS after minor corrections