Alignment of voids in the cosmic web

作者：Platen Erwin^*; van de Weygaert Rien; Jones Bernard J T

来源：Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2008, 387(1): 128-136.

DOI：10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13019.x

• methods : data analysis
• methods : numerical
• cosmology : theory
• large-scale structure of Universe

We investigate the shapes and mutual alignment of voids in the large-scale matter distribution of a Lambda cold dark matter (Lambda CDM) cosmology simulation. The voids are identified using the novel watershed void finder (WVF) technique. The identified voids are quite non-spherical and slightly prolate, with axis ratios in the order of c : b : a approximate to 0.5 : 0.7 : 1. Their orientations are strongly correlated with significant alignments spanning scales > 30 h(-1) Mpc.
We also find an intimate link between the cosmic tidal field and the void orientations. Over a very wide range of scales we find a coherent and strong alignment of the voids with the tidal field computed from the smoothed density distribution. This orientation-tide alignment remains significant on scales exceeding twice the typical void size, which shows that the long-range external field is responsible for the alignment of the voids. This confirms the view that the large-scale tidal force field is the main agent for the large-scale spatial organization of the cosmic web.

• 出版日期2008-6-11