Related papers: Rigorous Formulation of Finite-Sample and Finite-W…
We examine the errors on counts in cells extracted from galaxy surveys. The measurement error, related to the finite number of sampling cells, is disentangled from the ``cosmic error'', due to the finiteness of the survey. Using the…
The clustering amplitude of galaxies depends on their intrinsic luminosity. We compare the properties of publicly available galaxy formation models with clustering measurements from the two-degree field galaxy redshift survey. The model…
The two-point correlation function has been the standard statistic for quantifying how galaxies are clustered. The statistic uses the positions of galaxies, but not their properties. Clustering as a function of galaxy property, be it type,…
We study the implications and limitations of galaxy cluster surveys for constraining models of particle physics and gravity beyond the Standard Model. Flux limited cluster counts probe the history of large scale structure formation in the…
Studies of galaxy clusters have proved crucial in helping to establish the standard model of cosmology, with a universe dominated by dark matter and dark energy. A theoretical basis that describes clusters as massive, multi-component,…
Forthcoming large galaxy cluster surveys will yield tight constraints on cosmological models. It has been shown that in an idealized survey, containing > 10,000 clusters, statistical errors on dark energy and other cosmological parameters…
The abundance and mass distribution of galaxy clusters is a sensitive probe of cosmological parameters, through the sensitivity of the high-mass end of the halo mass function to $\Omega_m$ and $\sigma_8$. While galaxy cluster surveys have…
Some years ago we proposed a new approach to the analysis of galaxy and cluster correlations based on the concepts and methods of modern statistical Physics. This led to the surprising result that galaxy correlations are fractal and not…
The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey has now been completed and has mapped the three-dimensional distribution, and hence clustering, of galaxies in exquisite detail over an unprecedentedly large ($\sim 10^{8} h^{-3}$ Mpc$^{3}$) volume of the…
We introduce methods which allow observed galaxy clustering to be used together with observed luminosity or stellar mass functions to constrain the physics of galaxy formation. We show how the projected two-point correlation function of…
Clustering analyses of spectroscopic surveys are based upon density fluctuations, which are estimated by comparing the observed tracer density field to a selection function accounting for the survey density and geometry. However, this…
Marked correlation functions, in which galaxy properties such as luminosity or stellar mass are treated as marks, are widely used to test models of galaxy formation. In astronomy, however, these statistics are typically implemented as…
We present two-dimensional simulations of finite, self-gravitating gaseous sheets. Unlike the case of infinite sheets, such configurations do not constitute equilibrium states but instead are subject to global collapse unless countered by…
In this review, we describe our current understanding of cluster formation: from the general picture of collapse from initial density fluctuations in an expanding Universe to detailed simulations of cluster formation including the effects…
The general relativistic description of galaxy clustering provides a complete and unified treatment of all the effects in galaxy clustering such as the redshift-space distortion, gravitational lensing, Sachs-Wolfe effects, and their…
The magnification effects of clustered matter produce variations in the image sizes and number density of galaxies across the sky. This paper advocates the use of these effects in wide field surveys to map large-scale structure and the…
Observational astronomy is plagued with selection effects that must be taken into account when interpreting data from astronomical surveys. Because of the physical limitations of observing time and instrument sensitivity, datasets are…
We present a general relativistic description of galaxy clustering in a FLRW universe. The observed redshift and position of galaxies are affected by the matter fluctuations and the gravity waves between the source galaxies and the…
Weak-lensing searches for galaxy clusters are plagued by low completeness and purity, severely limiting their usefulness for constraining cosmological parameters with the cluster mass function. A significant fraction of `false positives'…
(Abridged) This is the first of a series of papers in which we derive simultaneous constraints on cosmological parameters and X-ray scaling relations using observations of the growth of massive, X-ray flux-selected galaxy clusters. Our data…