2000/07/31 by Matias Zaldarriaga, Uros Seljak, Lam Hui
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Equation of state #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Gravitation #Gravitational instability #Instability #Quasar #Scale (ratio) #Spectral density #Statistical Mechanics and Entropy #Wavelength #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/320066
9 figures, ApJ accepted
arxiv created 2000/12/08 · openalex publication_date 2001/04/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We investigate correlations between the long wavelength fluctuations and the small-scale power in the Lyα forest. We show that such correlations can be used to discriminate between fluctuations induced by large-scale structure and those produced by nongravitational processes such as fluctuations in the continuum of the quasar. The correlations observed in Q1422+231 are in agreement with the predictions of numerical simulations, indicating that nongravitational fluctuations on large scales have to be small compared to those induced by the large-scale structure of the universe, contributing less than 10% (95% confidence) of the observed power. We also show the sensitivity of such statistics to the equation of state of the gas and its mean temperature.