arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Avishai Dekel.
CONTENTS: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GRAVITATIONAL INSTABILITY 3. MEASURING PECULIAR VELOCITIES 4. ANALYSIS OF OBSERVED PECULIAR VELOCITIES 5. PREDICTED MOTIONS FROM THE GALAXY DISTRIBUTION 6. TESTING BASIC HYPOTHESES 7. THE INITIAL FLUCTUATIONS 8. THE VALUE OF OMEGA 9. DISCUSSION: ARE THE HYPOTHESES JUSTIFIED? REFERENCES
We map the smoothed mass-density distribution in the Galactic zone of avoidance (zoa), within $6000\kms$ of the Local Group, using potent reconstruction from peculiar velocities of galaxies. The interpolation into the zoa is based on the assumed gravitational nature of the velocity field implying a potential flow. The main dynamical features at a distance r=4000 km/s are (a) the peak of the Great Attractor connecting Centaurus and Pavo at l=330, (b) a moderate bridge connecting Perseus-Pisces and Cepheus at l= 140, and (c) an extension of a large void from the southern Galactic hemisphere into the zoa near the direction of Puppis, l=220-270. We find a strong correlation between the mass density and the IRAS and optical galaxy density at $b=+-20, which indicates that the main dynamical features in the zoa should also be seen in galaxy surveys through the Galactic plane. The gravitational acceleration at the Local Group, based on the mass distribution out to 6000 km/s, is strongly affected by the mass distribution in the zoa: its direction changes by 31 when the |b| < 20 zoa is included, bringing it to within 4 +- 19 of the CMB dipole.
We study the quasilinear evolution of the one-point probability density functions (PDFs) of the smoothed density and velocity fields in a cosmological gravitating system beginning with Gaussian initial fluctuations. Our analytic results are based on the Zel'dovich approximation and laminar flow. A numerical analysis extends the results into the multistreaming regime using the smoothed fields of a CDM N-body simulation. We find that the PDF of velocity, both Lagrangian and Eulerian, remains Gaussian under the laminar Zel'dovich approximation, and it is almost indistinguishable from Gaussian in the simulations. The PDF of mass density deviates from a normal distribution early in the quasilinear regime and it develops a shape remarkably similar to a lognormal distribution with one parameter, the \rms density fluctuation $σ$. Applying these results to currently available data we find that the PDFs of the velocity and density fields, as recovered by the \pot\ procedure from observed velocities assuming $Ω=1$, or as deduced from a redshift survey of \iras\ galaxies assuming that galaxies trace mass, are consistent with Gaussian initial fluctuations.
Nonlinear approximations to problems with mixed boundary conditions are useful for predicting large-scale streaming velocities from the density field, or vice-versa. We evaluate the schemes of Bernardeau \cite{bernardeau92}, Gramann \cite{gramann93}, and Nusser \etal \cite{nusser91}, using smoothed density and velocity fields obtained from $N$-body simulations of a CDM universe. The approximation of Nusser \etal is overall the most accurate and robust. For Gaussian smoothing of 1000\kms\ the mean error in the approximated relative density perturbation, $δ$, is smaller than 0.06, and the dispersion is 0.1. The \rms\ error in the estimated velocity is smaller than 60\kms, and the dispersion is 40\kms. For smoothing of 500\kms\ these numbers increase by about a factor $\sim 2$ for $δ< 4-5$, but deteriorate at higher densities. The other approximations are comparable to those of Nusser \etal for smoothing of 1000\kms, but are much less successful for the smaller smoothing of 500\kms.
The large-scale dynamics of matter is inferred from the observed peculiar velocities of galaxies via the POTENT procedure. The smoothed fields of velocity and mass-density fluctuations are recovered from the current data of about 3000 galaxies. The cosmological density parameter Omega can then be constrained in three ways: (a) by comparing the density fields of mass and galaxies, (b) by using the velocity field in voids, and (c) by investigating quasilinear deviations from Gaussian fluctuations. The results indicate a high value of Omega near unity; values in the range 0.1-0.3 are rejected with high confidence.
We propose a method for deriving a dynamical lower bound on $Ω$ from diverging flows in low-density regions, based on the fact that large outflows are not expected in a low-$Ω$ universe. The velocities are assumed to be induced by gravity from small initial fluctuations, but no assumptions are made regarding their exact Gaussian nature, galaxy biasing, or $Λ$. The derivatives of a diverging velocity field infer a nonlinear approximation to the mass density, which is an overestimate when the true value of $Ω$ is assumed. This inferred density can become ridiculously negative when the assumed $Ω$ is too low, thus bounding $Ω$. Observed radial peculiar velocities of galaxies allow the \pot\ procedure to recover the required velocity field, Gaussian smoothed at $1200\kms$. The density and the associated errors are then inferred for different values of $Ω$, searching for a void which shows negative inferred density with high confidence. A preliminary application to data in a southern void indicates that $Ω\leq 0.3$ can be ruled out at the $2.4$-sigma level. A detailed study of possible systematic errors is under way.