arXiv subjects

Pratyush Pranav

Publications and source records attributed to Pratyush Pranav.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Homology reveals significant anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background

We test the tenet of statistical isotropy of the standard cosmological model via a homology analysis of the cosmic microwave background temperature maps. Examining small sectors of the normalized maps, we find that the results exhibit a dependence on whether we compute the mean and variance locally from the masked patch, or from the full masked sky. Assigning local mean and variance for normalization, we find the maximum discrepancy between the data and model in the galactic northern hemisphere at more than $3.5$ s.d. for the PR4 dataset at degree-scale. For the PR3 dataset, the C-R and SMICA maps exhibit higher significance than the PR4 dataset at $\sim 4$ and $4.1$ s.d. respectively, however the NILC and SEVEM maps exhibit lower significance at $\sim 3.4$ s.d. The southern hemisphere exhibits high degree of consistency between the data and the model for both the PR4 and PR3 datasets. Assigning the mean and variance of the full masked sky decreases the significance for the northern hemisphere, the tails in particular. However the tails in the southern hemisphere are strongly discrepant at more than $4$ standard deviations at approximately $5$ degrees. The $p$-values obtained from the $χ^2$-statistic exhibit commensurate significance in both the experiments. Examining the quadrants of the sphere, we find the first quadrant to be the major source of the discrepancy. Prima-facie, the results indicate a breakdown of statistical isotropy in the CMB maps, however more work is needed to ascertain the source of the anomaly. Regardless, these map characteristics may have serious consequences for downstream computations such as parameter estimation, and the related Hubble tension.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Is the Observable Universe Consistent with the Cosmological Principle?

The Cosmological Principle (CP) -- the notion that the Universe is spatially isotropic and homogeneous on large scales -- underlies a century of progress in cosmology. It is conventionally formulated through the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmologies as the spacetime metric, and culminates in the successful and highly predictive $Λ$-Cold-Dark-Matter ($Λ$CDM) model. Yet, tensions have emerged within the $Λ$CDM model, most notably a statistically significant discrepancy in the value of the Hubble constant, $H_0$. Since the notion of cosmic expansion determined by a single parameter is intimately tied to the CP, implications of the $H_0$ tension may extend beyond $Λ$CDM to the CP itself. This review surveys current observational hints for deviations from the expectations of the CP, highlighting synergies and disagreements that warrant further study. Setting aside the debate about individual large structures, potential deviations from the CP include variations of cosmological parameters on the sky, discrepancies in the cosmic dipoles, and mysterious alignments in quasar polarizations and galaxy spins. While it is possible that a host of observational systematics are impacting results, it is equally plausible that precision cosmology may have outgrown the FLRW paradigm, an extremely pragmatic but non-fundamental symmetry assumption.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Anomalies in the topology of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background: An analysis of the $\texttt{NPIPE}$ and $\texttt{FFP10}$ data releases

We present a multi-scale topological analysis of the temperature fluctuation maps from the NPIPE and FFP10 datasets, invoking relative homology to account for the analysis in the presence of masks. For the topological components, we detect a $2.96σ$ deviation between the observations and simulations at $N = 128, FWHM = 80'$, for the FFP10 dataset. For the topological loops, we observe a high deviation between the observation and simulations in the number of loops at $FWHM = 320'$, at a low dimensionless threshold $ν= -2.5$, for the NPIPE dataset. Under a Gaussian assumption, this would amount to a deviation of $\sim 4σ$ . However, the distribution in this bin is manifestly non-Gaussian and does not obey Poisson statistics either. In the absence of a true theoretical understanding, we simply note that the significance is higher than what may be resolved by $600$ simulations. The FFP10 dataset, indicates a $2.77σ$ deviation at this resolution and threshold. The Euler characteristic reflects the deviations in the components and loops. To assess the significance of combined levels for a given scale, we employed the empirical and theoretical versions of the $χ^2$ test as well as the nonparametric Tukey depth test. Although all statistics exhibit a stable distribution, we favor the empirical version of the $χ^2$ test in the final interpretation, as it indicates the most conservative differences. Even though both datasets exhibit mild to significant discrepancies, they also exhibit contrasting behaviors at various instances. Therefore, we do not find it feasible to convincingly accept or reject the null hypothesis. Disregarding the large-scale anomalies that persist at similar scales in WMAP and Planck, observations of the cosmic microwave background are largely consistent with the standard cosmological model within $2σ$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Minkowski Functionals of SDSS-III BOSS : Hints of Possible Anisotropy in the Density Field?

We present measurements of the Minkowski functionals extracted from the SDSS-III BOSS catalogs. After defining the Minkowski functionals, we describe how an unbiased reconstruction of these statistics can be obtained from a field with masked regions and survey boundaries, validating our methodology with Gaussian random fields and mock galaxy snapshot data. From the BOSS galaxy data we generate a set of four density fields in three dimensions corresponding to the northern and southern skies of LOWZ and CMASS catalogs, smoothing over large scales such that the field is perturbatively non-Gaussian. We extract the Minkowski functionals from each data set separately, and measure their shapes and amplitudes by fitting a Hermite polynomial expansion. For the shape parameter of the Minkowski functional curves $a_0$, that is related to the bispectrum of the field, we find that the LOWZ-South data presents a systematically lower value of $a_0 = -0.080 \pm 0.040$ than its northern sky counterpart $a_0 = 0.032 \pm 0.024$. Although the significance of this discrepancy is low, it potentially indicates some systematics in the data or that the matter density field exhibits anisotropy at low redshift. By assuming a standard isotropic flat $Λ$CDM cosmology, the amplitudes of Minkowski functionals from the combination of northern and southern sky data give the constraints $Ω_{\rm c} h^2 n_{\rm s} = 0.110 \pm 0.006$ and $0.111 \pm 0.008$ for CMASS and LOWZ, respectively, which is in agreement with the Planck $Λ$CDM best-fit $Ω_{\rm c}h^{2} n_{\rm s} = 0.116 \pm 0.001$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Topology and geometry of Gaussian random fields II: on critical points, excursion sets, and persistent homology

This paper is second in the series, following Pranav et al. (2019), focused on the characterization of geometric and topological properties of 3D Gaussian random fields. We focus on the formalism of persistent homology, the mainstay of Topological Data Analysis (TDA), in the context of excursion set formalism. We also focus on the structure of critical points of stochastic fields, and their relationship with formation and evolution of structures in the universe. The topological background is accompanied by an investigation of Gaussian field simulations based on the LCDM spectrum, as well as power-law spectra with varying spectral indices. We present the statistical properties in terms of the intensity and difference maps constructed from the persistence diagrams, as well as their distribution functions. We demonstrate that the intensity maps encapsulate information about the distribution of power across the hierarchies of structures in more detailed than the Betti numbers or the Euler characteristic. In particular, the white noise ($n = 0$) case with flat spectrum stands out as the divide between models with positive and negative spectral index. It has the highest proportion of low significance features. This level of information is not available from the geometric Minkowski functionals or the topological Euler characteristic, or even the Betti numbers, and demonstrates the usefulness of hierarchical topological methods. Another important result is the observation that topological characteristics of Gaussian fields depend on the power spectrum, as opposed to the geometric measures that are insensitive to the power spectrum characteristics.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Persistent homology of the cosmic web. I: Hierarchical topology in $Λ$CDM cosmologies

Using a set of $Λ$CDM simulations of cosmic structure formation, we study the evolving connectivity and changing topological structure of the cosmic web using state-of-the-art tools of multiscale topological data analysis (TDA). We follow the development of the cosmic web topology in terms of the evolution of Betti number curves and feature persistence diagrams of the three (topological) classes of structural features: matter concentrations, filaments and tunnels, and voids. The Betti curves specify the prominence of features as a function of density level, and their evolution with cosmic epoch reflects the changing network connections between these structural features. The persistence diagrams quantify the longevity and stability of topological features. In this study we establish, for the first time, the link between persistence diagrams, the features they show, and the gravitationally driven cosmic structure formation process. By following the diagrams' development over cosmic time, the link between the multiscale topology of the cosmic web and the hierarchical buildup of cosmic structure is established. The sharp apexes in the diagrams are intimately related to key transitions in the structure formation process. The apex in the matter concentration diagrams coincides with the density level at which, typically, they detach from the Hubble expansion and begin to collapse. At that level many individual islands merge to form the network of the cosmic web and a large number of filaments and tunnels emerge to establish its connecting bridges. The location trends of the apex possess a self-similar character that can be related to the cosmic web's hierarchical buildup. We find that persistence diagrams provide a significantly higher and more profound level of information on the structure formation process than more global summary statistics like Euler characteristic or Betti numbers.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Loops abound in the cosmic microwave background: A $4σ$ anomaly on super-horizon scales

We present a topological analysis of the temperature fluctuation maps from the \emph{Planck 2020} Data release 4 (DR4) based on the \texttt{NPIPE} data processing pipeline. For comparison, we also present the topological characteristics of the maps from \emph{Planck 2018} Data release 3 (DR3). We perform our analysis in terms of the homology characteristics of the maps, invoking relative homology to account for analysis in the presence of masks. We perform our analysis for a range of smoothing scales spanning sub- and super-horizon scales corresponding to $FWHM = 5', 10', 20', 40', 80', 160', 320', 640'$. Our main result indicates a significantly anomalous behavior of the loops in the observed maps compared to simulations that are modeled as isotopic and homogeneous Gaussian random fields. Specifically, we observe a $4σ$ deviation between the observation and simulations in the number of loops at $FWHM = 320'$ and $FWHM = 640'$, corresponding to super-horizon scales of $5$ degrees and larger. In addition, we also notice a mildly significant deviation at $2σ$ for all the topological descriptors for almost all the scales analyzed. Our results show a consistency across different data releases, and therefore, the anomalous behavior deserves a careful consideration regarding its origin and ramifications. Disregarding the unlikely source of the anomaly being instrumental systematics, the origin of the anomaly may be genuinely astrophysical -- perhaps due to a yet unresolved foreground, or truly primordial in nature. Given the nature of the topological descriptors, that potentially encodes information of all orders, non-Gaussianities, of either primordial or late-type nature, may be potential candidates. Alternate possibilities include the Universe admitting a non-trivial global topology, including effects induced by large-scale topological defects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Estimation of Expected Euler Characteristic Curves of Nonstationary Smooth Gaussian Random Fields

The expected Euler characteristic (EEC) curve of excursion sets of a Gaussian random field is used to approximate the distribution of its supremum for high thresholds. Viewed as a function of the excursion threshold, the EEC is expressed by the Gaussian kinematic formula (GKF) as a linear function of the Lipschitz-Killing curvatures (LKCs) of the field, which solely depend on the domain and covariance function of the field. So far its use for non-stationary Gaussian fields over non-trivial domains has been limited because in this case the LKCs are difficult to estimate. In this paper, consistent estimators of the LKCs are proposed as linear projections of "pinned" observed Euler characteristic curves and a linear parametric estimator of the EEC curve is obtained, which is more efficient than its nonparametric counterpart for repeated observations. A multiplier bootstrap modification reduces the variance of the estimator, and allows estimation of LKCs and EEC of the limiting field of non-Gaussian fields satisfying a functional CLT. The proposed methods are evaluated using simulations of 2D fields and illustrated in thresholding of 3D fMRI brain activation maps and cosmological simulations on the 2-sphere.

math.ST↗

arXiv2019

Stochastic Homology of Gaussian vs. non-Gaussian Random Fields: Graphs towards Betti Numbers and Persistence Diagrams

The topology and geometry of random fields - in terms of the Euler characteristic and the Minkowski functionals - has received a lot of attention in the context of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), as the detection of primordial non-Gaussianities would form a valuable clue on the physics of the early Universe. The virtue of both the Euler characteristic and the Minkowski functionals in general, lies in the fact that there exist closed form expressions for their expectation values for Gaussian random fields. However, the Euler characteristic and Minkowski functionals are summarizing characteristics of topology and geometry. Considerably more topological information is contained in the homology of the random field, as it completely describes the creation, merging and disappearance of topological features in superlevel set filtrations. In the present study we extend the topological analysis of the superlevel set filtrations of two-dimensional Gaussian random fields by analysing the statistical properties of the Betti numbers - counting the number of connected components and loops - and the persistence diagrams - describing the creation and mergers of homological features. Using the link between homology and the critical points of a function - as illustrated by the Morse-Smale complex - we derive a one-parameter fitting formula for the expectation value of the Betti numbers and forward this formalism to the persistent diagrams. We, moreover, numerically demonstrate the sensitivity of the Betti numbers and persistence diagrams to the presence of non-Gaussianities.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Topology and Geometry of Gaussian random fields I: on Betti Numbers, Euler characteristic and Minkowski functionals

This study presents a numerical analysis of the topology of a set of cosmologically interesting three-dimensional Gaussian random fields in terms of their Betti numbers $β_0$, $β_1$ and $β_2$. We show that Betti numbers entail a considerably richer characterization of the topology of the primordial density field. Of particular interest is that Betti numbers specify which topological features - islands, cavities or tunnels - define its spatial structure. A principal characteristic of Gaussian fields is that the three Betti numbers dominate the topology at different density ranges. At extreme density levels, the topology is dominated by a single class of features. At low levels this is a \emph{Swiss-cheeselike} topology, dominated by isolated cavities, at high levels a predominantly \emph{Meatball-like} topology of isolated objects. At moderate density levels, two Betti number define a more \emph{Sponge-like} topology. At mean density, the topology even needs three Betti numbers, quantifying a field consisting of several disconnected complexes, not of one connected and percolating overdensity. A {\it second} important aspect of Betti number statistics is that they are sensitive to the power spectrum. It reveals a monotonic trend in which at a moderate density range a lower spectral index corresponds to a considerably higher (relative) population of cavities and islands. We also assess the level of complementary information that Betti numbers represent, in addition to conventional measures such as Minkowski functionals. To this end, we include an extensive description of the Gaussian Kinematic Formula (GKF), which represents a major theoretical underpinning for this discussion.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Unexpected Topology of the Temperature Fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background

We study the topology generated by the temperature fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, as quantified by the number of components and holes, formally given by the Betti numbers, in the growing excursion sets. We compare CMB maps observed by the Planck satellite with a thousand simulated maps generated according to the LCDM paradigm with Gaussian distributed fluctuations. The survey of the CMB over $\mathbb{S}^2$ is incomplete due to obfuscation effects by bright point sources and other extended foreground objects like our own galaxy. To deal with such situations, where analysis in the presence of "masks" is of importance, we introduce the concept of relative homology. The parametric $χ^2$-test shows differences between observations and simulations, yielding $p$-values at per-cent to less than per-mil levels roughly between 2 to 7 degrees. The highest observed deviation for $b_0$ and $b_1$ is approximately between $3σ$-4$σ$ at scales of 3 to 7 degrees. There are reports of mildly unusual behaviour of the Euler characteristic at 3.66 degrees in the literature, computed from independent measurements of the CMB temperature fluctuations by Planck's predecessor WMAP satellite. The mildly anomalous behaviour of Euler characteristic is related to the strongly anomalous behaviour of components and holes. These are also the scales at which the observed maps exhibit low variance compared to the simulations. Non-parametric tests show even stronger differences at almost all scales. Regardless, beyond the trivial possibility that this may still be a manifestation of an extreme Gaussian case, these observations, along with the super-horizon scales involved, may motivate to look at primordial non-Gaussianity. Alternative scenarios worth exploring may be models with non-trivial topology.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Modeling and replicating statistical topology, and evidence for CMB non-homogeneity

Under the banner of `Big Data', the detection and classification of structure in extremely large, high dimensional, data sets, is, one of the central statistical challenges of our times. Among the most intriguing approaches to this challenge is `TDA', or `Topological Data Analysis', one of the primary aims of which is providing non-metric, but topologically informative, pre-analyses of data sets which make later, more quantitative analyses feasible. While TDA rests on strong mathematical foundations from Topology, in applications it has faced challenges due to an inability to handle issues of statistical reliability and robustness and, most importantly, in an inability to make scientific claims with verifiable levels of statistical confidence. We propose a methodology for the parametric representation, estimation, and replication of persistence diagrams, the main diagnostic tool of TDA. The power of the methodology lies in the fact that even if only one persistence diagram is available for analysis -- the typical case for big data applications -- replications can be generated to allow for conventional statistical hypothesis testing. The methodology is conceptually simple and computationally practical, and provides a broadly effective statistical procedure for persistence diagram TDA analysis. We demonstrate the basic ideas on a toy example, and the power of the approach in a novel and revealing analysis of CMB non-homogeneity.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2017

The Topology of the Cosmic Web in Terms of Persistent Betti Numbers

We introduce a multiscale topological description of the Megaparsec weblike cosmic matter distribution. Betti numbers and topological persistence offer a powerful means of describing the rich connectivity structure of the cosmic web and of its multiscale arrangement of matter and galaxies. Emanating from algebraic topology and Morse theory, Betti numbers and persistence diagrams represent an extension and deepening of the cosmologically familiar topological genus measure, and the related geometric Minkowski functionals. In addition to a description of the mathematical background, this study presents the computational procedure for computing Betti numbers and persistence diagrams for density field filtrations. The field may be computed starting from a discrete spatial distribution of galaxies or simulation particles. The main emphasis of this study concerns an extensive and systematic exploration of the imprint of different weblike morphologies and different levels of multiscale clustering in the corresponding computed Betti numbers and persistence diagrams. To this end, we use Voronoi clustering models as templates for a rich variety of weblike configurations, and the fractal-like Soneira-Peebles models exemplify a range of multiscale configurations. We have identified the clear imprint of cluster nodes, filaments, walls, and voids in persistence diagrams, along with that of the nested hierarchy of structures in multiscale point distributions. We conclude by outlining the potential of persistent topology for understanding the connectivity structure of the cosmic web, in large simulations of cosmic structure formation and in the challenging context of the observed galaxy distribution in large galaxy surveys.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Felix: A Topology based Framework for Visual Exploration of Cosmic Filaments

The large-scale structure of the universe is comprised of virialized blob-like clusters, linear filaments, sheet-like walls and huge near empty three-dimensional voids. Characterizing the large scale universe is essential to our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies. The density range of clusters, walls and voids are relatively well separated, when compared to filaments, which span a relatively larger range. The large scale filamentary network thus forms an intricate part of the cosmic web. In this paper, we describe Felix, a topology based framework for visual exploration of filaments in the cosmic web. The filamentary structure is represented by the ascending manifold geometry of the 2-saddles in the Morse-Smale complex of the density field. We generate a hierarchy of Morse-Smale complexes and query for filaments based on the density ranges at the end points of the filaments. The query is processed efficiently over the entire hierarchical Morse-Smale complex, allowing for interactive visualization. We apply Felix to computer simulations based on the heuristic Voronoi kinematic model and the standard $Λ$CDM cosmology, and demonstrate its usefulness through two case studies. First, we extract cosmic filaments within and across cluster like regions in Voronoi kinematic simulation datasets. We demonstrate that we produce similar results to existing structure finders. Filaments that form the spine of the cosmic web, which exist in high density regions in the current epoch, are isolated using Felix. Also, filaments present in void-like regions are isolated and visualized. These filamentary structures are often over shadowed by higher density range filaments and are not easily characterizable and extractable using other filament extraction methodologies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Betti numbers of Gaussian fields

We present the relation between the genus in cosmology and the Betti numbers for excursion sets of three- and two-dimensional smooth Gaussian random fields, and numerically investigate the Betti numbers as a function of threshold level. Betti numbers are topological invariants of figures that can be used to distinguish topological spaces. In the case of the excursion sets of a three-dimensional field there are three possibly non-zero Betti numbers; $β_0$ is the number of connected regions, $β_1$ is the number of circular holes, and $β_2$ is the number of three-dimensional voids. Their sum with alternating signs is the genus of the surface of excursion regions. It is found that each Betti number has a dominant contribution to the genus in a specific threshold range. $β_0$ dominates the high-threshold part of the genus curve measuring the abundance of high density regions (clusters). $β_1$ dominates the genus near the median thresholds which measures the topology of negatively curved iso-density surfaces, and $β_2$ corresponds to the low-threshold part measuring the void abundance. We average the Betti number curves (the Betti numbers as a function of the threshold level) over many realizations of Gaussian fields and find that both the amplitude and shape of the Betti number curves depend on the slope of the power spectrum $n$ in such a way that their shape becomes broader and their amplitude drops less steeply than the genus as $n$ decreases. This behaviour contrasts with the fact that the shape of the genus curve is fixed for all Gaussian fields regardless of the power spectrum. Even though the Gaussian Betti number curves should be calculated for each given power spectrum, we propose to use the Betti numbers for better specification of the topology of large scale structures in the universe.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Alpha, Betti and the Megaparsec Universe: on the Topology of the Cosmic Web

We study the topology of the Megaparsec Cosmic Web in terms of the scale-dependent Betti numbers, which formalize the topological information content of the cosmic mass distribution. While the Betti numbers do not fully quantify topology, they extend the information beyond conventional cosmological studies of topology in terms of genus and Euler characteristic. The richer information content of Betti numbers goes along the availability of fast algorithms to compute them. For continuous density fields, we determine the scale-dependence of Betti numbers by invoking the cosmologically familiar filtration of sublevel or superlevel sets defined by density thresholds. For the discrete galaxy distribution, however, the analysis is based on the alpha shapes of the particles. These simplicial complexes constitute an ordered sequence of nested subsets of the Delaunay tessellation, a filtration defined by the scale parameter, $α$. As they are homotopy equivalent to the sublevel sets of the distance field, they are an excellent tool for assessing the topological structure of a discrete point distribution. In order to develop an intuitive understanding for the behavior of Betti numbers as a function of $α$, and their relation to the morphological patterns in the Cosmic Web, we first study them within the context of simple heuristic Voronoi clustering models. Subsequently, we address the topology of structures emerging in the standard LCDM scenario and in cosmological scenarios with alternative dark energy content. The evolution and scale-dependence of the Betti numbers is shown to reflect the hierarchical evolution of the Cosmic Web and yields a promising measure of cosmological parameters. We also discuss the expected Betti numbers as a function of the density threshold for superlevel sets of a Gaussian random field.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Probing Dark Energy with Alpha Shapes and Betti Numbers

We introduce a new descriptor of the weblike pattern in the distribution of galaxies and matter: the scale dependent Betti numbers which formalize the topological information content of the cosmic mass distribution. While the Betti numbers do not fully quantify topology, they extend the information beyond conventional cosmological studies of topology in terms of genus and Euler characteristic used in earlier analyses of cosmological models. The richer information content of Betti numbers goes along with the availability of fast algorithms to compute them. When measured as a function of scale they provide a "Betti signature" for a point distribution that is a sensitive yet robust discriminator of structure. The signature is highly effective in revealing differences in structure arising in different cosmological models, and is exploited towards distinguishing between different dark energy models and may likewise be used to trace primordial non-Gaussianities. In this study we demonstrate the potential of Betti numbers by studying their behaviour in simulations of cosmologies differing in the nature of their dark energy.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Response of a galactic disc to vertical perturbations : Strong dependence on density distribution

We study the self-consistent, linear response of a galactic disc to non-axisymmetric perturbations in the vertical direction as due to a tidal encounter, and show that the density distribution near the disc mid-plane has a strong impact on the radius beyond which distortions like warps develop. The self-gravity of the disc resists distortion in the inner parts. Applying this approach to a galactic disc with an exponential vertical profile, Saha & Jog showed that warps develop beyond 4-6 disc scalelengths, which could hence be only seen in HI. The real galactic discs, however, have less steep vertical density distributions that lie between a sech and an exponential profile. Here we calculate the disc response for such a general sech^(2/n) density distribution, and show that the warps develop from a smaller radius of 2-4 disc scalelengths. This naturally explains why most galaxies show stellar warps that start within the optical radius. Thus a qualitatively different picture of ubiquitous optical warps emerges for the observed less-steep density profiles. The surprisingly strong dependence on the density profile is due to the fact that the disc self-gravity depends crucially on its mass distribution close to the mid-plane. General results for the radius of onset of warps, obtained as a function of the disc scalelength and the vertical scaleheight, are presented as contour plots which can be applied to any galaxy.

astro-ph.CO↗