Cosmological shock waves
Abstract
Cosmological shock waves, developed during the formation and evolution of cosmic structures, encode crucial information on the hierarchical formation of the Universe as well on its thermalization. They also play an essential role in galaxy cluster properties, contributing very efficiently to the virialization of haloes. In this contribution, we analyse an Eulerian adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamical and N-body simulation in a ΛCDM cosmology especially developed for the study of cosmological shock waves. The simulation incorporates common cooling and heating processes for a primordial gas. The combination of a new shock-capturing algorithm together with a halo finder allows us to study in detail some of the main features of the cosmological shock waves developed during the hierarchical evolution of the simulated Universe. We pay especial attention to discuss the spatial and morphological distribution of shocks within the computational box as well as the correlations between the shock Mach numbers and some of the main halo properties. We also analyse the connexion between the formation and evolution of shocks with the dynamical history of the cluster haloes.
- Publication:
-
Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VII
- Pub Date:
- May 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013hsa7.conf..337P