arXiv subjects

R. van de Weygaert

Publications and source records attributed to R. van de Weygaert.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Polar disk galaxy found in wall between voids

We have found an isolated polar disk galaxy in what appears to be a cosmological wall situated between two voids. This void galaxy is unique as its polar disk was discovered serendipitously in an HI survey of SDSS void galaxies, with no optical counterpart to the HI polar disk. Yet the HI mass in the disk is comparable to the stellar mass in the galaxy. This suggests slow accretion of the HI material at a relatively recent time. There is also a hint of a warp in the outer parts of the HI disk. The central, stellar disk appears relatively blue, with faint near UV emission, and is oriented (roughly) parallel to the surrounding wall, implying gas accretion from out of the voids. The considerable gas mass and apparent lack of stars in the polar disk, coupled with the general underdensity of the environment, supports recent theories of cold flow accretion as an alternate formation mechanism for polar disk galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2006

Large Scale structure in the HI Parkes ALL-Sky Survey (HIPASS)

We study the clustering properties of the recently compiled HIPASS neutral hydrogen (HI) sources catalogue using the two point correlation function in redshift space. If the two point correlation is modelled as a power law, $ξ(r)=(r_{0}/r)^γ$, then the best-fitting parameters for the HI selected galaxies are $r_{0}=4.3 \pm 0.3 h^{-1}$ Mpc with $γ=1.42 \pm 0.14$. Fixing the slope to its universal value $γ=1.8$, we obtain $r_{0}= 4.1^{+0.2}_{-0.3} h^{-1}$ Mpc. Comparing the measured two point correlation function with the predictions of the concordance cosmological model, we find that at the present epoch the HI selected galaxies are anti-biased with respect to the underline matter fluctuation field with bias value being $b_{0}\simeq 0.63$. Also, we investigate the evolution of the linear bias factor, $b(z)$, and we find to be a strongly dependent function of redshift. Finally, we estimate the HI selected galaxies redshift space distortion parameter $β\simeq Ω_{\rm m}^{0.6}/b_{0}$ in order to correct the correlation function for the peculiar motions and we find $β\simeq 0.77$. Taking into account the corrections for the redshift space distortions the HI correlation length in real space is $r^{\rm re}_{0}=3^{+0.4}_{-0.3}h^{-1}$Mpc for $γ=1.42$ while using $γ=1.8$ we get $r^{\rm re}_{0}= 3.1 \pm 0.3 h^{-1}$Mpc.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Density Estimators in Particle Hydrodynamics: DTFE versus regular SPH

We present the results of a study confronting density maps reconstructed by the Delaunay Tessellation Field Estimator (DTFE) and by regular SPH kernel-based techniques. The comparison between the two methods clearly demonstrates the superior performance of the DTFE with respect to conventional SPH methods, in particular at locations where SPH appears to fail. The DTFE is a fully self-adaptive technique for reconstructing continuous density fields from discrete particle distributions, and is based upon the corresponding Delaunay tessellation. Its principal asset is its complete independence of arbitrary smoothing functions and parameters specifying the properties of these. As a result it manages to faithfully reproduce the anisotropies of the local particle distribution and through its adaptive and local nature proves to be optimally suited for uncovering the full structural richness in the density distribution. Through the improvement in local density estimates, calculations invoking the DTFE will yield a much better representation of physical processes which depend on density. The presented results form an encouraging step towards the application and insertion of the DTFE in astrophysical hydrocodes. We describe an outline for the construction of a particle hydrodynamics code in which the DTFE replaces kernel-based methods. Further discussion addresses the issue and possibilities for a moving grid based hydrocode invoking the DTFE, and Delaunay tessellations, in an attempt to combine the virtues of the Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches.

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arXiv2001

The cosmic flow in the Local Supercluster: Tracing PSCz tidal influence through optimized Least Action Principle

We assess the extent to which the flux-limited PSCz redshift sample is capable of accounting for the major share of mass concentrations inducing the external tidal forces affecting the peculiar velocities within the Local Supercluster (LS). The investigation is based upon a comparison of the ``true'' velocities in 2 large N-body simulations and their reconstruction from ``observation-mimicking'' mock catalogues. The mildly nonlinear ``mock'' LS and PSCz velocities are analyzed by means of the Least Action Principle technique in its highly optimized implementation of Nusser & Branchini's Fast Action Method (FAM). For both model N-body Universes, we conclude that the dipolar and quadrupolar force field implied by the PSCz galaxy distribution would indeed be sufficiently representing the full external tidal force field.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Delaunay recovery of cosmic density and velocity probes

Optimally resolved one-dimensional density and velocity profiles through cosmological N-body simulations are constructed by means of the Voronoi-Delaunay tessellation reconstruction technique. In a fully self-adaptive fashion a strikingly detailed view of the density features and the corresponding cosmic motions is recovered.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Reconstructing cosmological fields using tessellation methods

Astronomical observations, physical experiments as well as computer simulations often involve discrete data sets supposed to represent a fair sample of an underlying smooth and continuous field. Reconstructing the underlying fields from a set of irregularly sampled data is therefore a recurring key issue in operations on astronomical data sets. Conventional methods involve artificial filtering through a grid or a smoothing kernel and fail to achieve an optimal result. Here we describe a fully self-adaptive geometric method which does not make use of artificial filtering, and which makes optimal use of the available information.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Continuous Fields and Discrete Samples: Reconstruction through Delaunay Tessellations

Here we introduce the Delaunay Density Estimator Method. Its purpose is rendering a fully volume-covering reconstruction of a density field from a set of discrete data points sampling this field. Reconstructing density or intensity fields from a set of irregularly sampled data is a recurring key issue in operations on astronomical data sets, both in an observational context as well as in the context of numerical simulations. Our technique is based upon the stochastic geometric concept of the Delaunay tessellation generated by the point set. We shortly describe the method, and illustrate its virtues by means of an application to an N-body simulation of cosmic structure formation. The presented technique is a fully adaptive method: automatically it probes high density regions at maximum possible resolution, while low density regions are recovered as moderately varying regions devoid of the often irritating shot-noise effects. Of equal importance is its capability to sharply and undilutedly recover anisotropic density features like filaments and walls. The prominence of such features at a range of resolution levels within a hierarchical clustering scenario as the example of the standard CDM scenario is shown to be impressively recovered by our scheme.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

The Omega dependence of the velocity divergence distribution

Analytical studies based on perturbative theory have shown that the moments of the Probability Distribution Function (PDF) of the local smoothed velocity divergence are expected to have a very specific dependence on the density parameter Omega in the quasi-linear regime. This dependence is particularly interesting as it does not involve the possible bias between the galaxy spatial distribution and the underlying mass distribution. This implies a new and promising method for determining a bias-independent value of Omega based on a reliable determination of the velocity divergence PDF. In this paper we study the Omega dependence of the velocity divergence PDF and its first moments in a set of N-body simulations, using the so-called Voronoi and Delaunay methods. We show that this dependence is in agreement with the theoretical prediction, even while the number density of velocity field tracers has been diluted to a value comparable to that available in current galaxy catalogues. In addition, we demonstrate that a sufficiently reliable determination of these statistical quantities is also possible when the measurement of the galaxy peculiar velocities is restricted to the one component along the line-of-sight. Under ideal, noise-free circumstances we can successfully discriminate between low and high Omega.

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