arXiv subjects

Theodore Steele

Publications and source records attributed to Theodore Steele.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

An efficient model of cosmology dependence in the covariance matrix of the matter power spectrum

Covariance matrices are essential cosmological probes of fundamental physics, providing information on numerous fundamental physical parameters and varying with any change in the underlying cosmology. However, this cosmology dependence, while providing excellent information, also makes them computationally intensive to compute, as a new covariance matrix must explicitly be calculated for every variation in cosmology before comparisons to observational data can be made. In this paper, we develop an efficient model for estimating the parameter dependence of the covariance matrix of the matter power spectrum by Taylor expanding around a known value of the parameter space. This method allows us to use a relatively small number of input cosmologies, specifically one fiducial cosmology and two further cosmologies for each parameter. We explicitly calculate the covariance matrices for these cosmologies and then develop a new model that allows us to interpolate from these the form of the covariance matrix with a cosmology that is located elsewhere in that given parameter space without explicit perturbation theory calculations. This method speeds up covariance matrix calculations in new cosmologies by orders of magnitude compared to explicit perturbation theory calculations at each point in a given parameter space. Using different approximations, we develop three versions of our interpolated covariance matrix and validate the model by recreating all of our input cosmologies using all three forms, both with and without super-sample covariance corrections in each case, and show that the models provide robust recreations of the original results, with the different approximations being valid in certain regimes.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Projecting Unequal Time Fields and Correlators of Large Scale Structure

Many large scale structure surveys sort their observations into redshift bins and treat every tracer as being located at the mean redshift of its bin, a treatment which we refer to as the equal time approximation. Recently, a new method was developed which allows for the estimation and correction of errors introduced by this approximation, which we refer to as the unequal time correlator-level projection. For single tracer power spectra, corrections arise at second order and above in a series expansion, with first order terms surviving only in multi-tracer analyses. In this paper we develop a new method which we refer to as the unequal time field level projection. This formalism projects the fields individually onto the celestial sphere, displaced from individual reference times, before defining their correlators. This method introduces new, first order correction terms even in the case of single tracer power spectra. Specifically, new first order terms are introduced which apply to both cross-bin and single bin correlators. All of these new corrections originate with derivatives over combinations of a delta function, a cross-bin phase term, and the power spectrum itself and stem from the introduction of two unequal time Fourier transforms into the analysis. We analyse these corrections in the context of a linearly biased power spectrum divided between two redshift bins and find that they can lead to non-trivial corrections, particularly to cross-bin correlators. We also show that these terms can be replicated by appropriately extending the correlator-level analysis to include a second Fourier transform which allows for a full redshift bin integration.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Front Propagation from Radiative Sources

Fronts are regions of transition from one state to another in a medium. They are present in many areas of science and applied mathematics, and modelling them and their evolution is often an effective way of treating the underlying phenomena responsible for them. In this paper, we propose a new approach to modelling front propagation, which characterises the evolution of structures surrounding radiative sources. This approach is generic and has a wide range of applications, particularly when dealing with the propagation of phase or state transitions in media surrounding radiation emitting objects. As an illustration, we show an application in modelling the propagation of ionisation fronts around early stars during the cosmological Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) and show that the results are consistent with those of existing equations but provide much richer sources of information.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Precise Calibration of the One-Loop Trispectrum in the Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure

The Large-Scale Structure (LSS) of the universe has the potential to provide decisive answers to the remaining open questions in cosmology. Early attempts at modelling it analytically focused on using perturbation theory. However, small-scale effects introduced by gravitational collapse cannot be described perturbatively and this failure of perturbation theory is reflected even on the largest scales. The Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure (EFTofLSS) has emerged as a consistent method for describing LSS on large scales by introducing counterterms that account for the effects of small-scale dynamics. So far studies of the EFT have mostly focused on the two and three point functions with little attention devoted to the four point function or trispectrum. The trispectrum probes cubic interactions arising from non-linear clustering, biasing, and primordial non-Gaussianities, and constitutes a key element of the covariance matrix of the power spectrum. In this paper, we present explicit calibrations of the EFT counterterms for the one-loop trispectrum. Specifically, we find clear evidence for non-zero EFT corrections. We define two one-parameter ansätze for the counterterm of the one-loop propagator and show that they provide a good correction to the residual at scales below k~0.07 h/Mpc. We then take the amplitudes of the linear and quadratic counterkernels calculated in our previous paper on the bispectrum and use them in the remaining counterterms, establishing consistency of the counterterms in the two, three and four point function. We also show that the commonly used EdS approximation for the growth of the density fields leads to errors that are of the same magnitude as loop corrections to the trispectrum on large scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Precise Calibration of the One-Loop Bispectrum in the Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure

The bispectrum is the leading non-Gaussian statistic in Large-Scale Structure (LSS) clustering and encodes the interactions in the underlying field. It is thus an important diagnostic for primordial non-Gaussianity and higher order galaxy biasing. In this paper we present a detailed test and calibration of the matter bispectrum counterterms in the Effective Field Theory of LSS against a suite of $N$-body simulations. We are going beyond previous studies in employing realisation based perturbation theory that allows for a significant reduction in cosmic variance error bars. This enables the measurement of the low-energy constants on large scales before two-loop corrections become relevant, around $k<0.09 h\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ at $z=0$. We also go beyond previous work in using bispectrum propagator terms, i.e. correlators with linear and second order fields, to quantify the two new counterterms in isolation and to establish consistency with the power spectrum counterterm. By investigating the fully non-linear bispectrum, $B_{\mathrm{nnn}}$, as well as the terms $B_{\mathrm{n}11}$ and $B_{\mathrm{n}21}$, we find evidence for the new counterterms deviating from the shape suggested by the UV-limit of the relevant bispectrum contributions. We also show that the commonly used Einstein-de Sitter approximation for the time dependence of the tree-level bispectrum is insufficient for precise studies of the one-loop bispectrum and that it is necessary to use $Λ$CDM growth factors in order to obtain meaningful one-loop counterterm constraints. Finally, we also find evidence for small deviations in the growth factors that arise from time integration inaccuracies in the $N$-body simulations.

astro-ph.CO↗