arXiv subjects

Edouard Audit

Publications and source records attributed to Edouard Audit.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv1998

The kinematic Sunyaev Zeldovich effect and transverse cluster velocities

The polarization of the CMBR scattered by galaxy clusters in the kinematic Sunyaev Zeldovich effect depends on the transverse velocity of the cluster. This polarizing effect is proportional to the transverse velocity squared, and so weaker that the change in intensity due to the radial motion in the kinematic effect. The value given by Sunyaev and Zeldovich, and which is frequently cited, underestimates the polarizing effect by a factor of ten. We show furthermore that the polarization has a strong frequency dependence. This means that the polarization should be detectable with the new generation of CMBR probes, at least for some clusters. Thus this effect offers, almost uniquely, a method of obtaining the vectorial velocity of clusters.

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arXiv1998

The use of light polarization for weak-lensing inversions

The measurement of the integrated optical polarization of weakly gravitationally lensed galaxies can provide considerable constraints on lens models. The method outlined depends on fact that the orientation of the direction of optical polarization is not affected by weak gravitational lensing. The angle between the semi-major axis of the imaged galaxy and the direction of integrated optical polarization thus informs one of the distortion produced by the gravitational lensing. Although the method depends on the polarimetric measurement of faint galaxies, large telescopes and improved techniques should make such measurements possible in the near future.

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arXiv1998

Non-linear dynamics and mass function of cosmic structures. II Numerical results

We compare the mass functions obtained analytically, in the framework of an extended Press & Schechter (PS) formalism, in a previous paper to the numerical mass functions obtained in N -- body simulations, using different algorithms to define objects in the density field. After discussing the properties of the algorithms, we show that the mass function obtained using the friend -- of -- friend algorithm reproduces best the scaling behaviors predicted in the extended PS formalism. Following this statistical analysis, we show that it is possible in the framework of our extended PS formalism to reproduce the mass function but also, and for the first time, the initial statistical properties of structures and their collapse time. This allow to present a ``coherent'' picture of structure formation which can account for the initial, final and dynamical properties of structures.

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arXiv1997

Non-linear Dynamics and Mass Function of Cosmic Structures: I Analytical Results

We investigate some modifications to the Press & Schechter (1974) (PS) prescription resulting from shear and tidal effects. These modifications rely on more realistic treatments of the collapse process than the standard approach based on the spherical model. First, we show that the mass function resulting from a new approximate Lagrangian dynamic (Audit & Alimi 96), contains more objects at high mass, than the classical PS mass function and is well fitted by a PS-like function with a threshold density of $δ_c \simeq 1.4$. However, such a Lagrangian description can underestimate the epoch of structure formation since it defines it as the collapse of the first principal axis. We therefore suggest some analytical prescriptions, for computing the collapse time along the second and third principal axes, and we deduce the corresponding mass functions. The collapse along the third axis is delayed by the shear and the number of objects of high mass then decreases. Finally, we show that the shear also strongly affects the formation of low-mass halos. This dynamical effect implies a modification of the low-mass slope of the mass function and allows the reproduction of the observed luminosity function of field galaxies. In a companion paper, we present results of numerical simulations which complete this work.

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arXiv1996

Gravitational Dynamics of Cold Matter using the Deformation Tensor

In this paper we present a new local Lagrangian approximation to the gravitational dynamics of cold matter. We describe the dynamics of a Lagrangian fluid element through only one quantity, the deformation tensor. We show that this tensor is clearly suited to the study of gravitational dynamics and, moreover, that knowing its evolution is enough to completely describe a fluid element. Our approximate dynamics treat exactly the conservation of mass, of the velocity divergence and of the shear and is exact in the case of planar, cylindrical and spherical collapses. It also reproduces very accurately the evolution of all dynamical quantities for a very wide class of initial conditions as illustrated by a detailed comparison with the homogeneous ellipsoid model. Beside, we highlight, for the first time, the important dynamical role played by the Newtonian counterpart of the magnetic part of the Weyl tensor.

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