Varying alpha from N-body Simulations

TL;DR

This study uses N-body simulations to analyze how the scalar field associated with the fine structure constant varies within dark matter halos, revealing model-independent profiles and providing an analytic approximation.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent simulation approach to study alpha variation and derives an analytic profile that matches numerical results for isolated halos.

Findings

Scalar field profile is independent of BSBM model parameters.

Analytic expression for scalar perturbation matches simulations for isolated halos.

Environmental effects cause a constant offset in non-isolated halos.

Abstract

We have studied the Bekenstein-Sandvik-Barrow-Magueijo (BSBM) model for the spatial and temporal variations of the fine structure constant, alpha, with the aid of full N-body simulations which explicitly and self-consistently solve for the scalar field driving the alpha-evolution. We focus on the scalar field (or equivalently alpha) inside the dark matter halos and find that the profile of the scalar field is essentially independent of the BSBM model parameter. This means that given the density profile of an isolated halo and the background value of the scalar field, we can accurately determine the scalar field perturbation in that halo. We also derive an analytic expression for the scalar-field perturbation using the Navarro-Frenk-White halo profile, and show that it agrees well with numerical results, at least for isolated halos; for non-isolated halos this prediction differs from numerical result by a (nearly) constant offset which depends on the environment of the halo.