Addressing the too-big-to-fail problem and the void phenomenon through a modified initial power spectrum

TL;DR

This paper explores how modifying the initial power spectrum with a Gaussian bump influences structure formation, potentially resolving the missing satellite, TBTF, and void phenomena by altering halo abundance and merger rates.

Contribution

It introduces a specific modification to the initial power spectrum that impacts halo formation and merger dynamics, offering solutions to several cosmological small-scale problems.

Findings

Enhanced abundance of massive halos at specific scales.

Reduced number of small-mass halos and satellite galaxies.

Altered merger frequency and halo distribution in voids.

Abstract

We investigate the impact of early-time initial conditions on nonlinear structure formation and evolution within the framework of the semi-analytical Excursion Set Theory (EST). Our analysis reveals that adding a Gaussian bump to the initial curvature power spectrum at small scales enhances the abundance of massive halos while sharply reducing the number of small-mass halos, and consequently, satellite galaxies. Moreover, this modification increases the frequency of major mergers while suppressing high-mass-ratio minor mergers. These features may offer resolutions to the missing satellite and Too Big to Fail (TBTF) problems. In underdense regions -- voids -- the same modifications increase the likelihood of finding massive halos embedded in voids while similarly decreasing the small-halo population, and consequently, faint galaxies. This behavior suggests a potential solution to the void phenomenon, in which embedded halos, despite being too massive, were too rare to be noticed. More precisely, our results indicate that an excess of massive structures emerges at mass scales near the center of the Gaussian bump: $k_* = 1.85 \,\rm{h/Mpc}$ and $k_* = 3.95 \,\rm{h/Mpc}$. These scales correspond to mass scales of $M_* = 10^{11}$ and $M_* = 10^{10}$, respectively. This modification extends up to two orders of magnitude in higher mass scales, while reducing the abundance of halos below $M_*$ by two to three orders of magnitude. Additionally, we find that evolutionary conditions, halo-in-halo, and particularly halo-in-void statistics serve as more sensitive and complementary probes for differentiating among cosmological models.