2009/12/22 by S. F. Shandarin, Sergei Shandarin, Salman Habib +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Biology #COSMIC cancer database #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Gravitation #Percolation (cognitive psychology) #Physics #Structure formation #Universe #astro-ph.CO
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.81.103006
published as Phys.Rev.D81:103006,2010 · 11 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2009/12/22 · openalex publication_date 2010/05/24 · arxiv updated 2014/11/20 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The large-scale structure of the Universe, as traced by the distribution of galaxies, is now being revealed by large-volume cosmological surveys. The structure is characterized by galaxies distributed along filaments, the filaments connecting in turn to form a percolating network. Our objective here is to quantitatively specify the underlying mechanisms that drive the formation of the cosmic network: By combining percolation-based analyses with N-body simulations of gravitational structure formation, we elucidate how the network has its origin in the properties of the initial density field (nature) and how its contrast is then amplified by the nonlinear mapping induced by the gravitational instability (nurture).