arXiv subjects

P. Valageas

Publications and source records attributed to P. Valageas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Euclid preparation. Review of forecast constraints on dark energy and modified gravity

The Euclid mission has been designed to provide, as one of its main deliverables, information on the nature of the gravitational interaction, which determines the expansion of the Universe and the formation of structures. Thus, Euclid has the potential to test deviations from general relativity that will allow us to shed light on long-lasting problems in the standard cosmological model, $\Lambda$CDM. Euclid will mainly do this by using two complementary probes: weak gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering. In this paper we review pre-launch Euclid analyses for dark energy and modified gravity. These include forecast constraints with future Euclid data on cosmological parameters for different cosmological models, such as a time-varying dark energy component, phenomenological modifications of the perturbation sector and specific modified gravity models, with further extensions that include neutrino physics and the coupling to the electromagnetic sector through the fine-structure constant. We review the study of the impact of nonlinear clustering methods on beyond-$\Lambda$CDM constraints with Euclid. This is of fundamental importance to efficiently predict the large-scale clustering of matter and dark matter halos, given that we will have access to a wealth of information on scales beyond the linear regime. We inspect the extension of theoretical predictions for observable quantities in alternative cosmologies to $\Lambda$CDM at fully nonlinear scales by means of $N$-body simulations. We discuss the impact of relativistic corrections in extended cosmological models. Overall, this review highlights the significant potential of the Euclid mission to tightly constrain parameters of dark energy and modified gravity models, or perhaps to detect possible signatures of a $\Lambda$CDM failure.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

3D Vortices and rotating solitons in ultralight dark matter

We study the formation and the dynamics of vortex lines in rotating scalar dark matter halos, focusing on models with quartic repulsive self-interactions. In the nonrelativistic regime, vortex lines and their lattices arise from the Gross-Pitaevskii equation of motion, as for superfluids and Bose-Einstein condensates studied in laboratory experiments. Indeed, in such systems vorticity is supported by the singularities of the phase of the scalar field, which leads to a discrete set of quantized vortices amid a curl-free velocity background. In the continuum limit where the number of vortex lines becomes very large, we find that the equilibrium solution is a rotating soliton that obeys a solid-body rotation, with an oblate density profile aligned with the direction of the total spin. This configuration is dynamically stable provided the rotational energy is smaller than the self-interaction and gravitational energies. Using numerical simulations in the Thomas-Fermi regime, with stochastic initial conditions for a spherical halo with a specific averaged density profile and angular momentum, we find that a rotating soliton always emerges dynamically, within a few dynamical times, and that a network of vortex lines aligned with the total spin fills its oblate profile. These vertical vortex lines form a regular lattice in the equatorial plane, in agreement with the analytical predictions of uniform vortex density and solid-body rotation. These vortex lines might further extend between halos to form the backbone of spinning cosmic filaments.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Euclid: Constraining linearly scale-independent modifications of gravity with the spectroscopic and photometric primary probes

The future Euclid space satellite mission will offer an invaluable opportunity to constrain modifications to Einstein's general relativity at cosmic scales. We focus on modified gravity models characterised, at linear scales, by a scale-independent growth of perturbations while featuring different testable types of derivative screening mechanisms at smaller non-linear scales. We considered three specific models, namely JBD, a scalar-tensor theory with a flat potential, the nDGP gravity, a braneworld model in which our Universe is a four-dimensional brane embedded in a five-dimensional Minkowski space-time, and $k$-mouflage (KM) gravity, an extension of $k$-essence scenarios with a universal coupling of the scalar field to matter. In preparation for real data, we provide forecasts from spectroscopic and photometric primary probes by Euclid on the cosmological parameters and the additional parameters of the models, respectively, $\omega_{\rm BD}$, $\Omega_{\rm rc}$ and $\epsilon_{2,0}$. The forecast analysis employs the Fisher matrix method applied to weak lensing (WL); photometric galaxy clustering (GCph), spectroscopic galaxy clustering (GCsp) and the cross-correlation (XC) between GCph and WL. In an optimistic setting at 68.3\% confidence interval, we find the following percentage relative errors with Euclid alone: for $\log_{10}{\omega_{\rm BD}}$, with a fiducial value of $\omega_{\rm BD}=800$, 27.1\% using GCsp alone, 3.6\% using GCph+WL+XC and 3.2\% using GCph+WL+XC+GCsp; for $\log_{10}{\Omega_{\rm rc}}$, with a fiducial value of $\Omega_{\rm rc}=0.25$, we find 93.4\%, 20\% and 15\% respectively; and finally, for $\epsilon_{2,0}=-0.04$, we find 3.4\%, 0.15\%, and 0.14\%. (abridged)

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Understanding X-ray and optical selection of galaxy clusters: A comparison of the XXL and CAMIRA cluster catalogues obtained in the common XXL-HSC SSP area

Large samples of galaxy clusters provide knowledge of both astrophysics in the most massive virialised environments and the properties of the cosmological model that defines our Universe. However, an important issue that affects the interpretation of galaxy cluster samples is the role played by the selection waveband and the potential for this to introduce a bias in the physical properties of clusters thus selected. We aim to investigate waveband-dependent selection effects in the identification of galaxy clusters by comparing the X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM) Ultimate Extra-galactic Survey (XXL) and Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) CAMIRA cluster samples identified from a common 22.6 deg2 sky area. We compare 150 XXL and 270 CAMIRA clusters in a common parameter space defined by X-ray aperture brightness and optical richness. We find that 71/150 XXL clusters are matched to the location of a CAMIRA cluster, the majority of which (67/71) display richness values N>15 that exceed the CAMIRA catalogue richness threshold. We find that 67/270 CAMIRA clusters are matched to the location of an XXL cluster (defined within XXL as an extended X-ray source). Of the unmatched CAMIRA clusters, the majority display low X-ray fluxes consistent with the lack of an XXL counterpart. However, a significant fraction (64/107) CAMIRA clusters that display high X-ray fluxes are not asociated with an extended source in the XXL catalogue. We demonstrate that this disparity arises from a variety of effects including the morphological criteria employed to identify X-ray clusters and the properties of the XMM PSF.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

The XXL survey: first results and future

The XXL survey currently covers two 25 sq. deg. patches with XMM observations of ~10ks. We summarise the scientific results associated with the first release of the XXL data set, that occurred mid 2016. We review several arguments for increasing the survey depth to 40 ks during the next decade of XMM operations. X-ray (z<2) cluster, (z<4) AGN and cosmic background survey science will then benefit from an extraordinary data reservoir. This, combined with deep multi-$λ$ observations, will lead to solid standalone cosmological constraints and provide a wealth of information on the formation and evolution of AGN, clusters and the X-ray background. In particular, it will offer a unique opportunity to pinpoint the z>1 cluster density. It will eventually constitute a reference study and an ideal calibration field for the upcoming eROSITA and Euclid missions.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

The XXL Survey: I. Scientific motivations - XMM-Newton observing plan - Follow-up observations and simulation programme

We present the XXL Survey, the largest XMM programme totaling some 6.9 Ms to date and involving an international consortium of roughly 100 members. The XXL Survey covers two extragalactic areas of 25 deg2 each at a point-source sensitivity of ~ 5E-15 erg/sec/cm2 in the [0.5-2] keV band (completeness limit). The survey's main goals are to provide constraints on the dark energy equation of state from the space-time distribution of clusters of galaxies and to serve as a pathfinder for future, wide-area X-ray missions. We review science objectives, including cluster studies, AGN evolution, and large-scale structure, that are being conducted with the support of approximately 30 follow-up programmes. We describe the 542 XMM observations along with the associated multi-lambda and numerical simulation programmes. We give a detailed account of the X-ray processing steps and describe innovative tools being developed for the cosmological analysis. The paper provides a thorough evaluation of the X-ray data, including quality controls, photon statistics, exposure and background maps, and sky coverage. Source catalogue construction and multi-lambda associations are briefly described. This material will be the basis for the calculation of the cluster and AGN selection functions, critical elements of the cosmological and science analyses. The XXL multi-lambda data set will have a unique lasting legacy value for cosmological and extragalactic studies and will serve as a calibration resource for future dark energy studies with clusters and other X-ray selected sources. With the present article, we release the XMM XXL photon and smoothed images along with the corresponding exposure maps. The XMM XXL observation list (Table B.1) is available in electronic form at the CDS. The present paper is the first in a series reporting results of the XXL-XMM survey.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

The XXL Survey. II. The bright cluster sample: catalogue and luminosity function

Context. The XXL Survey is the largest survey carried out by the XMM-Newton satellite and covers a total area of 50 square degrees distributed over two fields. It primarily aims at investigating the large-scale structures of the Universe using the distribution of galaxy clusters and active galactic nuclei as tracers of the matter distribution. Aims. This article presents the XXL bright cluster sample, a subsample of 100 galaxy clusters selected from the full XXL catalogue by setting a lower limit of $3\times 10^{-14}\,\mathrm{erg \,s^{-1}cm^{-2}}$ on the source flux within a 1$^{\prime}$ aperture. Methods. The selection function was estimated using a mixture of Monte Carlo simulations and analytical recipes that closely reproduce the source selection process. An extensive spectroscopic follow-up provided redshifts for 97 of the 100 clusters. We derived accurate X-ray parameters for all the sources. Scaling relations were self-consistently derived from the same sample in other publications of the series. On this basis, we study the number density, luminosity function, and spatial distribution of the sample. Results. The bright cluster sample consists of systems with masses between $M_{500}=7\times 10^{13}$ and $3\times 10^{14} M_\odot$, mostly located between $z=0.1$ and 0.5. The observed sky density of clusters is slightly below the predictions from the WMAP9 model, and significantly below the predictions from the Planck 2015 cosmology. In general, within the current uncertainties of the cluster mass calibration, models with higher values of $σ_8$ and/or $Ω_m$ appear more difficult to accommodate. We provide tight constraints on the cluster differential luminosity function and find no hint of evolution out to $z\sim1$. We also find strong evidence for the presence of large-scale structures in the XXL bright cluster sample and identify five new superclusters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

The XMM-LSS survey: the Class 1 cluster sample over the extended 11 deg$^2$ and its spatial distribution

This paper presents 52 X-ray bright galaxy clusters selected within the 11 deg$^2$ XMM-LSS survey. 51 of them have spectroscopic redshifts ($0.05 3 σ$) constraints on the presence of a large void in the cluster distribution. We work out alternative hypotheses and demonstrate that a negative redshift evolution in the normalization of the $L_{X}-T_X$ relation (with respect to a self-similar evolution) is a plausible explanation for the observed deficit. We confirm this evolutionary trend by directly studying how C1 clusters populate the $L_{X}-T_X-z$ space, properly accounting for selection biases. We point out that a systematically evolving, unresolved, central component in clusters and groups (AGN contamination or cool core) can impact the classification as extended sources and be partly responsible for the observed redshift distribution.[abridged]

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Mass function and bias of dark matter halos for non-Gaussian initial conditions

We revisit the derivation of the mass function and the bias of dark matter halos for non-Gaussian initial conditions. We use a steepest-descent approach to point out that exact results can be obtained for the high-mass tail of the halo mass function and the two-point correlation of massive halos. Focusing on primordial non-Gaussianity of the local type, we check that these results agree with numerical simulations. The high-mass cutoff of the halo mass function takes the same form as the one obtained from the Press-Schechter formalism, but with a linear threshold $δ_L$ that depends on the definition of the halo. We show that a simple formula, which obeys this high-mass asymptotic and uses the fit obtained for Gaussian initial conditions, matches numerical simulations while keeping the mass function normalized to unity. Next, by deriving the real-space halo two-point correlation in the spirit of Kaiser (1984) and taking a Fourier transform, we obtain good agreement with simulations for the correction to the halo bias due to primordial non-Gaussianity. Therefore, neither the halo mass function nor the bias require an ad-hoc parameter $q$ provided one uses the correct linear threshold $δ_L$ and pays attention to halo displacements. The nonlinear real-space expression can be useful for checking that the "linearized" bias is a valid approximation. Moreover, it clearly shows how the baryon acoustic oscillation at $\sim 100 h^{-1}$Mpc is amplified by the bias of massive halos and modified by primordial non-Gaussianity. On smaller scales, the correction to the real-space bias roughly scales as $\fNL \, b_M(\fNL=0) \, x^2$. The low-$k$ behavior of the halo bias does not imply a divergent real-space correlation, so that one does not need to introduce counterterms that depend on the survey size.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Mass functions and bias of dark matter halos

We revisit the study of the mass functions and the bias of dark matter halos. Focusing on the limit of rare massive halos, we point out that exact analytical results can be obtained for the large-mass tail of the halo mass function. This is most easily seen from a steepest-descent approach, that becomes asymptotically exact for rare events. We also revisit the traditional derivation of the bias of massive halos, associated with overdense regions in the primordial density field. We check that the theoretical large-mass cutoff agrees with the mass functions measured in numerical simulations. For halos defined by a nonlinear threshold $δ=200$ this corresponds to using a linear threshold $δ_L\simeq 1.59$ instead of the traditional value $\simeq 1.686$. We also provide a fitting formula that matches simulations over all mass scales and obeys the exact large-mass tail. Next, paying attention to the Lagrangian-Eulerian mapping (i.e. corrections associated with the motions of halos), we improve the standard analytical formula for the bias of massive halos. We check that our prediction, which contains no free parameter, agrees reasonably well with numerical simulations. In particular, it recovers the steepening of the dependence on scale of the bias that is observed at higher redshifts, which published fitting formulae did not capture. This behavior mostly arises from nonlinear biasing.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Statistical properties of the Burgers equation with Brownian initial velocity

We study the one-dimensional Burgers equation in the inviscid limit for Brownian initial velocity (i.e. the initial velocity is a two-sided Brownian motion that starts from the origin x=0). We obtain the one-point distribution of the velocity field in closed analytical form. In the limit where we are far from the origin, we also obtain the two-point and higher-order distributions. We show how they factorize and recover the statistical invariance through translations for the distributions of velocity increments and Lagrangian increments. We also derive the velocity structure functions and we recover the bifractality of the inverse Lagrangian map. Then, for the case where the initial density is uniform, we obtain the distribution of the density field and its $n$-point correlations. In the same limit, we derive the $n-$point distributions of the Lagrangian displacement field and the properties of shocks. We note that both the stable-clustering ansatz and the Press-Schechter mass function, that are widely used in the cosmological context, happen to be exact for this one-dimensional version of the adhesion model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Some statistical properties of the Burgers equation with white-noise initial velocity

We revisit the one-dimensional Burgers equation in the inviscid limit for white-noise initial velocity. We derive the probability distributions of velocity and Lagrangian increments, measured on intervals of any length $x$. This also gives the velocity structure functions. Next, for the case where the initial density is uniform, we obtain the distribution of the density, over any scale $x$, and we derive the density two-point correlation and power spectrum. Finally, we consider the Lagrangian displacement field and we derive the distribution of increments of the Lagrangian map. We check that this gives back the well-known mass function of shocks. For all distributions we describe the limiting scaling functions that are obtained in the large-scale and small-scale limits. We also discuss how these results generalize to other initial conditions, or to higher dimensions, and make the connection with a heuristic multifractal formalism. We note that the formation of point-like masses generically leads to a universal small-scale scaling for the density distribution, which is known as the ``stable-clustering ansatz'' in the cosmological context (where the Burgers dynamics is also known as the ``adhesion model'').

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Quasi-linear regime and rare-event tails of decaying Burgers turbulence

We study the decaying Burgers dynamics in $d$ dimensions for random Gaussian initial conditions. We focus on power-law initial energy spectra, such that the system shows a self-similar evolution. This is the case of interest for the "adhesion model" in cosmology and a standard framework for "decaying Burgers turbulence". We briefly describe how the system can be studied through perturbative expansions at early time or large scale (quasi-linear regime). Next, we develop a saddle-point method, based on spherical instantons, that allows to obtain the asymptotic probability distributions $\cP(η_r)$ and $\cP(\ctheta_r)$, of the density and velocity increment over spherical cells, reached in the quasi-linear regime. Finally, we show how this approach can be extended to take into account the formation of shocks and we derive the rare-event tails of these probability distributions, at any finite time and scale. This also gives the high-mass tail of the mass function of point-like singularities (shocks in the one dimensional case).

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Expansion schemes for gravitational clustering: computing two-point and three-point functions

We describe various expansion schemes that can be used to study gravitational clustering. Obtained from the equations of motion or their path-integral formulation, they provide several perturbative expansions that are organized in different fashion or involve different partial resummations. We focus on the two-point and three-point correlation functions, but these methods also apply to all higher-order correlation and response functions. We present the general formalism, which holds for the gravitational dynamics as well as for similar models, such as the Zeldovich dynamics, that obey similar hydrodynamical equations of motion with a quadratic nonlinearity. We give our explicit analytical results up to one-loop order for the simpler Zeldovich dynamics. For the gravitational dynamics, we compare our one-loop numerical results with numerical simulations. We check that the standard perturbation theory is recovered from the path integral by expanding over Feynman's diagrams. However, the latter expansion is organized in a different fashion and it contains some UV divergences that cancel out as we sum all diagrams of a given order. Resummation schemes modify the scaling of tree and one-loop diagrams, which exhibit the same scaling over the linear power spectrum (contrary to the standard expansion). However, they do not significantly improve over standard perturbation theory for the bispectrum, unless one uses accurate two-point functions (e.g. a fit to the nonlinear power spectrum from simulations). Extending the range of validity to smaller scales, to reach the range described by phenomenological models, seems to require at least two-loop diagrams.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Cosmology with Weak Lensing Surveys

Weak gravitational lensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening matter. The distortions are due to fluctuations in the gravitational potential, and are directly related to the distribution of matter and to the geometry and dynamics of the Universe. As a consequence, weak gravitational lensing offers unique possibilities for probing the Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe. In this review, we summarise the theoretical and observational state of the subject, focussing on the statistical aspects of weak lensing, and consider the prospects for weak lensing surveys in the future. Weak gravitational lensing surveys are complementary to both galaxy surveys and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations as they probe the unbiased non-linear matter power spectrum at modest redshifts. Most of the cosmological parameters are accurately estimated from CMB and large-scale galaxy surveys, so the focus of attention is shifting to understanding the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. On the theoretical side, recent advances in the use of 3D information of the sources from photometric redshifts promise greater statistical power, and these are further enhanced by the use of statistics beyond two-point quantities such as the power spectrum. The use of 3D information also alleviates difficulties arising from physical effects such as the intrinsic alignment of galaxies, which can mimic weak lensing to some extent. (Abridged)

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

A new approach to gravitational clustering: a path-integral formalism and large-N expansions

We show that the formation of large-scale structures through gravitational instability in the expanding universe can be fully described through a path-integral formalism. We derive the action S[f] which gives the statistical weight associated with any phase-space distribution function f(x,p,t). This action S describes both the average over the Gaussian initial conditions and the Vlasov-Poisson dynamics. Next, applying a standard method borrowed from field theory we generalize our problem to an N-field system and we look for an expansion over powers of 1/N. We describe three such methods and we derive the corresponding equations of motion at the lowest non-trivial order for the case of gravitational clustering. This yields a set of non-linear equations for the mean $\fb$ and the two-point correlation G of the phase-space distribution f, as well as for the response function R. These systematic schemes match the usual perturbative expansion on quasi-linear scales but should also be able to handle the non-linear regime. Our approach can also be extended to non-Gaussian initial conditions and may serve as a basis for other tools borrowed from field theory.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The phase-diagram of the IGM and the entropy floor of groups and clusters: are clusters born warm?

We point out that two problems of observational cosmology, the facts i) that > 60% of the baryonic content of the universe is not observed at z=0 and ii) that the properties of small clusters do not agree with simple expectations, could be closely related. As shown by recent studies, the shock-heating associated with the formation of large-scale structures heats the intergalactic medium (IGM) and leads to a ``warm IGM'' component for the gas. In the same spirit, we suggest the intracluster medium (ICM) to be a mixture of galaxy-recycled, metal enriched gas and intergalactic gas, shock-heated by the collapsing much larger scales. This could be obtained through two processes: 1) the late infalling gas from the external warm IGM is efficiently mixed within the halo and brings some additional entropy, or 2) the shocks generated by larger non-linear scales are also present within clusters and can heat the ICM. We show that if assumption (1) holds, the entropy brought by the warm IGM is sufficient to explain the observed properties of clusters, in particular the entropy floor and the LX-T relation. On the other hand, we briefly note that the scenario (2) would require a stronger shock-heating because of the larger density of the ICM as compared with filaments. Our scenario of clusters being "born warm" can be checked through the predicted redshift evolution of the entropy floor.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Transients from Zel'dovich initial conditions

We investigate the error implied by the use of the Zel'dovich approximation to set up the initial conditions at a finite redshift zi in numerical simulations. Using a steepest-descent method developed in a previous work we derive the probability distribution P(delta_R) of the density contrast in the quasi-linear regime. This also provides its dependence on the redshift zi at which the simulation is started. Thus, we find that the discrepancy with the exact pdf (defined by the limit zi->infinity) is negligible after the scale factor has grown by a factor a/a_i>5, for scales which were initially within the linear regime with sigma_i>0.1. This shows that the use of the Zel'dovich approximation to implement the initial conditions is sufficient for practical purposes since these are not very severe constraints.

astro-ph↗