arXiv subjects

Hayley J. Macpherson

Publications and source records attributed to Hayley J. Macpherson.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Einstein's Universe: Cosmological structure formation in numerical relativity

We perform large-scale cosmological simulations that solve Einstein's equations directly via numerical relativity. Starting with initial conditions sampled from the cosmic microwave background, we track the emergence of a cosmic web without the need for a background cosmology. We measure the backreaction of large-scale structure on the evolution of averaged quantities in a matter-dominated universe. Although our results are preliminary, we find the global backreaction energy density is of order $10^{-8}$ compared to the energy density of matter in our simulations, and is thus unlikely to explain accelerating expansion under our assumptions. Sampling scales above the homogeneity scale of the Universe ($100-180\,h^{-1}$Mpc), in our chosen gauge, we find $2-3\%$ variations in local spatial curvature.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

The trouble with Hubble: Local versus global expansion rates in inhomogeneous cosmological simulations with numerical relativity

In a fully inhomogeneous, anisotropic cosmological simulation performed by solving Einstein's equations with numerical relativity, we find a local measurement of the effective Hubble parameter differs by less than 1\% compared to the global value. This variance is consistent with predictions from Newtonian gravity. We analyse the averaged local expansion rate on scales comparable to Type 1a supernova surveys, and find that local variance cannot resolve the tension between the \citet{riess2018b} and \citet{planck2018a} measurements.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Inhomogeneous Cosmology with Numerical Relativity

We perform three-dimensional numerical relativity simulations of homogeneous and inhomogeneous expanding spacetimes, with a view towards quantifying non-linear effects from cosmological inhomogeneities. We demonstrate fourth-order convergence with errors less than one part in 10^6 in evolving a flat, dust Friedmann-Lemaitre-Roberston-Walker (FLRW) spacetime using the Einstein Toolkit within the Cactus framework. We also demonstrate agreement to within one part in 10^3 between the numerical relativity solution and the linear solution for density, velocity and metric perturbations in the Hubble flow over a factor of ~350 change in scale factor (redshift). We simulate the growth of linear perturbations into the non-linear regime, where effects such as gravitational slip and tensor perturbations appear. We therefore show that numerical relativity is a viable tool for investigating nonlinear effects in cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗