Nov 4 (Wed), 14:15 in A315
Non-linear structure formation in scale free cosmological models
Calculation of the clustering of matter in the universe in different cosmological models,
even in the approximation that all but gravitational forces are neglected, relies essentially
on numerical simulations which use the N body method. The physics of this non-linear
clustering remains poorly understood, and there are also open questions about the
resolution/precision of simulations. After a brief overview of these issues, I will discuss them
in the framework of a particularly simple class of “scale-free” cosmological models,
which have the interest of providing a very simple diagnostic for determining
resolution, and also some simple analytical predictions for clustering.
We explore using these models, in both one and three dimensions, two questions
which turn out to be intimately linked to the issue of numerical resolution: the relevance
of the stable clustering approximation in the strongly non-linear regime, and the
dependence of halo profiles on cosmology and initial conditions.