Juan Carlos Hidalgo — Page 4

arXiv2013

The Poisson equation at second order in relativistic cosmology

We calculate the relativistic constraint equation which relates the curvature perturbation to the matter density contrast at second order in cosmological perturbation theory. This relativistic "second order Poisson equation" is presented in a gauge where the hydrodynamical inhomogeneities coincide with their Newtonian counterparts exactly for a perfect fluid with constant equation of state. We use this constraint to introduce primordial non-Gaussianity in the density contrast in the framework of General Relativity. We then derive expressions that can be used as initial conditions of N-body codes for structure formation which probe the observable signature of primordial non-Gaussianity in the statistics of the evolved matter density field.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Primordial Black Holes in non-linear perturbation theory

This thesis begins with a study of the origin of cosmological fluctuations with special attention to those cases in which the non-Gaussian correlation functions are large. The analysis shows that perturbations from an almost massless auxiliary field generically produce large values of the non-linear parameter f_NL. The effects of including non-Gaussian correlation functions in the statistics of cosmological structure are explored by constructing a non-Gaussian probability distribution function (PDF). Such PDF is derived for the comoving curvature perturbation from first principles in the context of quantum field theory, with n-point correlation functions as the only input. The non-Gaussian PDF is then used to explore two important problems in the physics of primordial black holes (PBHs): First, to compute non-Gaussian corrections to the number of PBHs generated from the primordial curvature fluctuations. The second application concerns new cosmological observables. The formation of PBHs is known to depend on two main physical characteristics: the strength of the gravitational field produced by the initial curvature inhomogeneity and the pressure gradient at the edge of the curvature configuration. We account for the probability of finding these configurations by using two parameters: The amplitude of the inhomogeneity and its second radial derivative, evaluated at the centre of the configuration. The implications of the derived probability for the fraction of mass in the universe in the form of PBHs are discussed.

astro-ph.CO↗