GrAviPaSt's Lens to the Past: Unveiling the Evolution of Filamentary Structures

TL;DR

This study introduces GrAviPaSt, a novel, efficient filament identification method, to analyze the evolution of cosmic filaments across redshifts using the IllustrisTNG simulation, revealing key structural and dynamic changes over time.

Contribution

We present GrAviPaSt, a parameter-free filament detection technique based on gravitational potential and path-finding algorithms, enabling detailed analysis of filament evolution across redshifts.

Findings

Filament properties such as length, thickness, and density contrast evolve from redshift 1 to 0.

Distinct radial profile differences between filaments connecting galaxy groups and clusters.

Different velocity trends in filaments indicate varied evolutionary pathways.

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of cosmic filaments across redshifts 1, 0.5, and 0 using the IllustrisTNG100-1 magneto-hydrodynamical simulation. To achieve this, we introduce GrAviPaSt, a simple, efficient and parameter-free filament identification method that leverages gravitational potential, an A*-like path-finding algorithm, and spanning trees. Applying this method to galaxy distributions at different redshifts allows us to analyze various filament properties, including their length, thickness, mass density contrast, and radial profile. Additionally, we investigate dynamic characteristics such as the mean distance of filament galaxies from the skeleton, their weighted mean velocity, and velocity trends normalized by their positions within the filaments. Our findings reveal the evolution of cosmic filaments from redshift 1 to 0, highlighting key differences across classifications. In particular, we examine the mass density contrast radial profile of filaments connecting two galaxy groups and those linking two galaxy clusters, identifying distinct differences in profile shape between these categories. Furthermore, in the context of weighted mean velocity, we analyze cosmic filaments exhibiting either negative or positive weighted mean velocity, demonstrating their differing evolutionary trends in terms of the mean distance of filament galaxies from the skeleton.