An efficient implementation of massive neutrinos in non-linear structure formation simulations

TL;DR

This paper presents a computationally efficient method to model massive neutrinos in non-linear structure formation simulations by combining linear neutrino evolution with non-linear CDM dynamics, improving accuracy without shot-noise issues.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach that treats neutrinos linearly while evolving CDM non-linearly, avoiding shot-noise and accurately capturing neutrino effects in structure formation.

Findings

Total matter power spectrum can be accurately computed up to the present time.

Method avoids shot-noise issues inherent in particle-based neutrino simulations.

Non-linear clustering of neutrinos in massive clusters does not affect the overall power spectrum.

Abstract

Massive neutrinos make up a fraction of the dark matter, but due to their large thermal velocities, cluster significantly less than cold dark matter (CDM) on small scales. An accurate theoretical modelling of their effect during the non-linear regime of structure formation is required in order to properly analyse current and upcoming high-precision large-scale structure data, and constrain the neutrino mass. Taking advantage of the fact that massive neutrinos remain linearly clustered up to late times, this paper treats the linear growth of neutrino overdensities in a non-linear CDM background. The evolution of the CDM component is obtained via N-body computations. The smooth neutrino component is evaluated from that background by solving the Boltzmann equation linearised with respect to the neutrino overdensity. CDM and neutrinos are simultaneously evolved in time, consistently accounting for their mutual gravitational influence. This method avoids the issue of shot-noise inherent to particle-based neutrino simulations, and, in contrast with standard Fourier-space methods, properly accounts for the non-linear potential wells in which the neutrinos evolve. Inside the most massive late-time clusters, where the escape velocity is larger than the neutrino thermal velocity, neutrinos can clump non-linearly, causing the method to formally break down. It is shown that this does not affect the total matter power spectrum, which can be very accurately computed on all relevant scales up to the present time.