The structure of cosmic voids in a LCDM Universe

TL;DR

This paper uses an innovative Eulerian AMR simulation and a new void finder to study cosmic voids, revealing their complex hierarchy, morphology, and a universal density profile across different voids and redshifts.

Contribution

It introduces a novel AMR simulation approach focused on underdense regions and a specialized void finder algorithm for detailed void hierarchy analysis.

Findings

Hundreds of voids identified with sizes up to 17 Mpc/h

Void density contrast around -0.8

Universal density profile applicable to various voids

Abstract

Eulerian cosmological codes are especially suited to properly describe the low density regions. This property makes this class of codes excellent tools to study the formation and evolution of cosmic voids. Following such ideas, we present the results of an Eulerian adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamical and N-body simulation, that contrary to the common practice, has been designed to refine the computational grid in the underdense regions of the simulated volume. Thus, the void regions are better described due to the combined effect of the Eulerian character of the numerical technique and the use of high numerical resolution from the AMR approach. To analyse the outcome of this simulation, we have constructed a new void finder optimally suited to find the hierarchy of voids in AMR simulations. The algorithm identifies voids starting from the cells with least density and highest velocity divergence and then expanding the underdense volume until reaching the void walls, defined from the steepness of the density gradient. At redshift z=0, in a cosmological box of comoving side length 100 Mpc/h, we identify hundreds of voids with sizes up to 17 Mpc/h and typical density contrast of -0.8, which show a complex morphology and an intricate hierarchy of nested structures. The analysis of their mass density profile leads to the conclusion that a universal density profile can be applied to voids of any size, density, morphology and redshift.