arXiv subjects

David Alonso

Publications and source records attributed to David Alonso.

170 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Fast simulations for intensity mapping experiments

We present a code to generate mock observations of 21 cm intensity mapping experiments. The emphasis of the code is on reducing the computational cost of running a full-blown simulation, trading computational time for accuracy. The code can be used to generate independent realizations of the cosmological signal and foregrounds, which are necessary, for instance, in order to obtain realistic forecasts for future intensity mapping experiments. The code is able to reproduce the correct angular and radial clustering pattern for the cosmological signal, including redshift-space distortions, lightcone evolution and bias. Furthermore, it is possible to simulate a variety of foregrounds, including the potentially problematic polarized synchrotron emission.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

CUTE solutions for two-point correlation functions from large cosmological datasets

In the advent of new large galaxy surveys, which will produce enormous datasets with hundreds of millions of objects, new computational techniques are necessary in order to extract from them any two-point statistic, the computational time of which grows with the square of the number of objects to be correlated. Fortunately technology now provides multiple means to massively parallelize this problem. Here we present a free-source code specifically designed for this kind of calculations. Two implementations are provided: one for execution on shared-memory machines using OpenMP and one that runs on graphical processing units (GPUs) using CUDA. The code is available at http://members.ift.uam-csic.es/dmonge/CUTE.html.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2012

Halo abundances and shear in void models

We study the non-linear gravitational collapse of dark matter into halos through numerical N-body simulations of Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi void models. We extend the halo mass function formalism to these models in a consistent way. This extension not only compares well with the simulated data at all times and radii, but it also gives interesting clues about the impact of the background shear on the growth of perturbations. Our results give hints about the possibility of constraining the background shear via cluster number counts, which could then give rise to strong constraints on general inhomogeneous models, of any scale.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Large scale structure simulations of inhomogeneous LTB void models

We perform numerical simulations of large scale structure evolution in an inhomogeneous Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) model of the Universe. We follow the gravitational collapse of a large underdense region (a void) in an otherwise flat matter-dominated Einstein-deSitter model. We observe how the (background) density contrast at the centre of the void grows to be of order one, and show that the density and velocity profiles follow the exact non-linear LTB solution to the full Einstein equations for all but the most extreme voids. This result seems to contradict previous claims that fully relativistic codes are needed to properly handle the non-linear evolution of large scale structures, and that local Newtonian dynamics with an explicit expansion term is not adequate. We also find that the (local) matter density contrast grows with the scale factor in a way analogous to that of an open universe with a value of the matter density OmegaM(r) corresponding to the appropriate location within the void.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2008

Unifying Theories of Molecular, Community and Network Evolution

The origin of diversification and coexistence of genes and species have been traditionally studied in isolated biological levels. Ecological and evolutionary views have focused on the mechanisms that enable or constrain species coexistence, genetic variation and the genetics of speciation, but a unified theory linking those approaches is still missing. Here we introduce evolutionary graphs in the context of neutral theories of molecular evolution and biodiversity to provide a framework that simultaneously addresses speciation rate and joint genetic and species diversities. To illuminate this question we also study two models of evolution on graphs with fitness differences, which provide insights on how genetic and ecological dynamics drive the speed of diversification. Neutral evolution generates the highest speed of speciation, species richness (i.e. five times and twice as many species as compared to genetic and ecological graphs, respectively) and genetic--species diversity (i.e., twice as many as genetic and ecological graphs, respectively). Thus the speed of speciation, the genetic--species diversity and coexistence can differ dramatically depending on whether genetic factors versus ecological factors drive the evolution of the system. By linking molecular, sexual and trophic behavior at ecological and evolutionary scales, interacting graphs can illuminate the origin and evolution of diversity and organismal coexistence.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2003

Analytic solution of Hubbell's model of local community dynamics

Recent theoretical approaches to community structure and dynamics reveal that many large-scale features of community structure (such as species-rank distributions and species-area relations) can be explained by a so-called neutral model. Using this approach, species are taken to be equivalent and trophic relations are not taken into account explicitly. Here we provide a general analytic solution to the local community model of Hubbell's neutral theory of biodiversity by recasting it as an urn model i.e.a Markovian description of states and their transitions. Both stationary and time-dependent distributions are analysed. The stationary distribution -- also called the zero-sum multinomial -- is given in closed form. An approximate form for the time-dependence is obtained by using an expansion of the master equation. The temporal evolution of the approximate distribution is shown to be a good representation for the true temporal evolution for a large range of parameter values.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2000

A mean field stochastic theory for species-rich assembled communities

A dynamical model of an ecological community is analyzed within a "mean-field approximation" in which one of the species interacts with the combination of all of the other species in the community. Within this approximation the model may be formulated as a master equation describing a one-step stochastic process. The stationary distribution is obtained in closed form and is shown to reduce to a logseries or lognormal distribution, depending on the values that the parameters describing the model take on. A hyperbolic relationship between the connectance of the matrix of interspecies interactions and the average number of species, exists for a range of parameter values. The time evolution of the model at short and intermediate times is analyzed using van Kampen's approximation, which is valid when the number of individuals in the community is large. Good agreement with numerical simulations is found. The large time behavior, and the approach to the stationary state, is obtained by solving the equation for the generating function of the probability distribution. The analytical results which follow from the analysis are also in good agreement with direct simulations of the model.

nlin.AO↗

arXiv1999

Scaling in a Multispecies Network Model Ecosystem

A new model ecosystem consisting of many interacting species is introduced. The species are connected through a random matrix with a given connectivity. It is shown that the system is organized close to a boundary of marginal stability in such a way that fluctuations follow power law distributions both in species abundance and their lifetimes for some slow-driving (immigration) regime. The connectivity and the number of species are linked through a scaling relation which is the one observed in real ecosystems. These results suggest that the basic macroscopic features of real, species-rich ecologies might be linked with a critical state. A natural link between lognormal and power law distributions of species abundances is suggested.

adap-org↗