Related papers: Improved Ways to Compare Simulations to Data
Galaxies represent the visible fabric of the Universe and there has been considerable progress recently in both observational and theoretical studies. The underlying goal is to understand the present-day diversity of galaxy forms, masses…
A timely combination of new theoretical ideas and observational discoveries has brought about significant advances in our understanding of cosmic evolution. Computer simulations have played a key role in these developments by providing the…
Following the discovery of the CMB, the hot big-bang model has become the standard cosmological model. In this theory, small primordial fluctuations are subsequently amplified by gravity to form the large-scale structure seen today.…
Cosmologists at the Institute of Computational Cosmology, Durham University, have developed a state of the art model of galaxy formation known as Galform, intended to contribute to our understanding of the formation, growth and subsequent…
Surveys of galaxy clusters provide a promising method of testing models of structure formation in the universe. Within the context of our standard structure formation scenario, surveys provide measurements of the geometry of the universe…
Over the last decades, cosmological simulations of galaxy formation have been instrumental for advancing our understanding of structure and galaxy formation in the Universe. These simulations follow the non-linear evolution of galaxies…
This article reviews the prevailing paradigm for how galaxies and larger structures formed in the universe: gravitational instability. Basic observational facts are summarized to motivate the standard cosmological framework underlying most…
Good statistics for measuring large-scale structure in the Universe must be able to distinguish between different models of structure formation. In this paper, two and three dimensional ``counts in cell" statistics and a new ``discrete…
A description of CMB temperature fluctuations beyond the power spectrum is important for verifying models of structure formation, especially in view of forthcoming high-resolution observations. We argue that higher-order statistics of…
Timescales in astronomy comprise the largest range of any scientific discipline. In the construction of physical models, this circumstance may both be a blessing and a curse. For example, galaxy evolution occurs on typical timescales of…
I outline the connections between some of the most widely used statistical measures of galaxy clustering and the fundamental issues in the theory of structure formation. I devote particular attention to the problem of biasing, i.e. to a…
A basic ingredient to understand large scale fluctuations in our present day Universe is the initial conditions. Using N-body simulations, we compare the clustering that arises from Gaussian and non-Gaussian initial conditions. The latter…
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…
We present a brief introduction to the statistical properties of systems with large fluctuations. We point out that for such systems the relevant statistical quantities are scaling exponents and the nature of fluctuations is completely…
A companion paper presents a worked model for evolution through inflation to initial conditions for an isocurvature model for structure formation. It is shown here that the model is consistent with the available observational constraints…
The origin of the large scale structure in the universe - galaxies, quasars, clusters, voids, sheets - is one of the most important questions in cosmology. One can show that some non-thermal energy density fluctuations must have been…
Galaxy formation simulations are an essential part of the modern toolkit of astrophysicists and cosmologists alike. Astrophysicists use the simulations to study the emergence of galaxy populations from the Big Bang, as well as problems…
A sample of hundreds of simulated galaxy clusters is used to study the statistical properties of galaxy cluster formation. Individual assembly histories are discussed, the degree of virialization is demonstrated and various commonly used…
Cosmological galaxy formation simulations are still limited by their spatial/mass resolution and cannot model from first principles some of the processes, like star formation, that are key in driving galaxy evolution. As a consequence they…
Simulations of large-scale structure in the universe have played a vital role in observational cosmology since 1980's in particular. Their important role will definitely continue to be true in the 21st century. Rather the requirements for…