The intergalactic Newtonian gravitational field and the shell theorem

TL;DR

This paper uses the 2MASS Redshift Survey data to evaluate the Newtonian gravitational field within a galaxy sample and discusses the results in relation to the shell theorem, which predicts zero gravitational field inside a sphere.

Contribution

It provides a detailed numerical analysis of the gravitational field in a galaxy sample and examines the validity of the shell theorem in this context.

Findings

Gravitational field varies within the galaxy sample.

Results challenge or confirm the shell theorem assumptions.

Provides a grid-based evaluation of gravitational field in a galaxy volume.

Abstract

The release of the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS), with it's 44599 galaxies allows the deduction of the galaxy's masses in nearly complete sample. A cubic box with side of 37 Mpc containing 2429 galaxies is extracted and the Newtonian gravitational field is evaluated both at the center of the box as well in 101 x 101 x 101 grid points of the box. The obtained results are then discussed at the light of the shell theorem which states that at the internal of a sphere the gravitational field is zero.