Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies from second order gravitational perturbations

This paper presents a complete analysis of the effects of second order gravitational perturbations on Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies, taking explicitly into account scalar, vector and tensor modes. We also consider the second order perturbations of the metric itself obtaining them, for a universe dominated by a collision-less fluid, in the Poisson gauge, by transforming the known results in the synchronous gauge. We discuss the resulting second order anisotropies in the Poisson gauge, and analyse the possible relevance of the different terms. We expect that, in the simplest scenarios for structure formation, the main effect comes from the gravitational lensing by scalar perturbati…

General-relativistic approach to the nonlinear evolution of collisionless matter.

A new general-relativistic algorithm is developed to study the nonlinear evolution of scalar (density) perturbations of an irrotational collisionless fluid up to shell crossing, under the approximation of neglecting the interaction with tensor (gravitational-wave) perturbations. The dynamics of each fluid element is separately followed in its own inertial rest frame by a system of twelve coupled first-order ordinary differential equations, which can be further reduced to six under very general conditions. Initial conditions are obtained in a cosmological framework, from linear theory, in terms of a single gauge-invariant potential. Physical observables, which are expressed in the Lagrangian…

Cosmological background solutions and cosmological backreactions

The cosmological backreaction proposal, which attempts to account for observations without a primary dark energy source in the stress-energy tensor, has been developed and discussed by means of different approaches. Here, we focus on the concept of cosmological background solutions in order to develop a framework to study different backreaction proposals.

A Frozen-Flow Approximation to the Evolution of Large-Scale Structures in the Universe

A new approximation to the evolution of large-scale structures in the Universe is proposed which is based on neglecting the role of particle inertia compared to the damping implied by the Hubble drag. We call this approximation frozen flow because particles move by updating at each step their velocity to the local value of the peculiar velocity field, here approximated by its growing linear mode: stream-lines are then frozen to their initial shape. The situation is quite different from that of the Zel'dovich algorithm, where the velocity is kept constant along each particle trajectory

Relativistic second-order perturbations of the Einstein-de Sitter universe

We consider the evolution of relativistic perturbations in the Einstein-de Sitter cosmological model, including second-order effects. The perturbations are considered in two different settings: the widely used synchronous gauge and the Poisson (generalized longitudinal) one. Since, in general, perturbations are gauge dependent, we start by considering gauge transformations at second order. Next, we give the evolution of perturbations in the synchronous gauge, taking into account both scalar and tensor modes in the initial conditions. Using the second-order gauge transformation previously defined, we are then able to transform these perturbations to the Poisson gauge. The most important feat…

New horizons for fundamental physics with LISA

K. G. Arun et al.

A relativistic approach to gravitational instability in the expanding Universe: second-order Lagrangian solutions

A Lagrangian relativistic approach to the non--linear dynamics of cosmological perturbations of an irrotational collisionless fluid is considered. Solutions are given at second order in perturbation theory for the relevant fluid and geometric quantities and compared with the corresponding ones in the Newtonian approximation. Specifically, we compute the density, the volume expansion scalar, the shear, the ``electric" part, or tide, and the ``magnetic" part of the Weyl tensor. The evolution of the shear and the tide beyond the linear regime strongly depends on the ratio of the characteristic size of the perturbation to the cosmological horizon distance. For perturbations on sub--horizon scal…

Non-Linear Relativistic Evolution of Cosmological Perturbations in Irrotational Dust

Perturbations of spacetime: gauge transformations and gauge invariance at second order and beyond

We consider in detail the problem of gauge dependence that exists in relativistic perturbation theory, going beyond the linear approximation and treating second and higher order perturbations. We first derive some mathematical results concerning the Taylor expansion of tensor fields under the action of one-parameter families (not necessarily groups) of diffeomorphisms. Second, we define gauge invariance to an arbitrary order $n$. Finally, we give a generating formula for the gauge transformation to an arbitrary order and explicit rules to second and third order. This formalism can be used in any field of applied general relativity, such as cosmological and black hole perturbations, as well …

General Relativistic Dynamics of Irrotational Dust: Cosmological Implications

The non--linear dynamics of cosmological perturbations of an irrotational collisionless fluid is analyzed within General Relativity. Relativistic and Newtonian solutions are compared, stressing the different role of boundary conditions in the two theories. Cosmological implications of relativistic effects, already present at second order in perturbation theory, are studied and the dynamical role of the magnetic part of the Weyl tensor is elucidated.