The Schr\"odinger-Poisson method for Large-Scale Structure

TL;DR

This paper explores the Schr"odinger-Poisson method as an effective approach for simulating large-scale structure formation in cosmology, analyzing its accuracy and systematic effects on matter distribution statistics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the application of the Schr"odinger-Poisson method to cosmological simulations and identifies key parameters affecting its accuracy on non-linear scales.

Findings

The SP method accurately reproduces the matter correlation function and power spectrum at BAO scales.

Systematic effects depend on simulation parameters and can be controlled.

Loss of power at low redshifts is scale-independent and parameter-dependent.

Abstract

We study the Schr\"odinger-Poisson (SP) method in the context of cosmological large-scale structure formation in an expanding background. In the limit $\hbar \to 0$, the SP technique can be viewed as an effective method to sample the phase space distribution of cold dark matter that remains valid on non-linear scales. We present results for the 2D and 3D matter correlation function and power spectrum at length scales corresponding to the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) peak. We discuss systematic effects of the SP method applied to cold dark matter and explore how they depend on the simulation parameters. In particular, we identify a combination of simulation parameters that controls the scale-independent loss of power observed at low redshifts, and discuss the scale relevant to this effect.