A Cosmic Coincidence: The Power-Law Galaxy Correlation Function

We model the evolution of galaxy clustering through cosmic time to investigate the nature of the power-law shape of xi(r), the galaxy two-point correlation function. Departures from a power law are mainly governed by galaxy pair counts on small scales, subject to non-linear dynamics. We assume that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2011-06
Main Authors: Watson, Douglas F, Berlind, Andreas A, Zentner, Andrew R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clustering
Dark matter
Deposition
Galactic evolution
Galactic halos
Galaxies
Nonlinear dynamics
Power law
Red shift
Star & galaxy formation
Stars & galaxies
Substructures
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Summary:We model the evolution of galaxy clustering through cosmic time to investigate the nature of the power-law shape of xi(r), the galaxy two-point correlation function. Departures from a power law are mainly governed by galaxy pair counts on small scales, subject to non-linear dynamics. We assume that galaxies reside within dark matter halos and subhalos and use a semi-analytic substructure evolution model to study subhalo populations within host halos. We find that tidal mass loss and, to a lesser degree, dynamical friction deplete the number of subhalos within larger host halos over time by ~90%, just the right amount for achieving a power-law xi(r) at z = 0. We find that xi(r) breaks from a power law at high masses, implying that only galaxies of luminosities
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1101.5155