6533b871fe1ef96bd12d2528
RESEARCH PRODUCT
A global descriptor of spatial pattern interaction in the galaxy distribution
Thomas BuchertVicent J. MartínezMaría Jesús Pons-borderíaMartin KerscherRoberto Trasarti-battistoniRiccardo ValdarniniJens Schmalzingsubject
PhysicsStructure formationAstrophysics (astro-ph)FOS: Physical sciencesAstronomy and AstrophysicsProbability density functionAstrophysicsFunction (mathematics)Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic AstrophysicsAstrophysicsGalaxyField (geography)k-nearest neighbors algorithmSpace and Planetary ScienceStatistical physicsCluster analysisSpatial analysisAstrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysicsdescription
We present the function J as a morphological descriptor for point patterns formed by the distribution of galaxies in the Universe. This function was recently introduced in the field of spatial statistics, and is based on the nearest neighbor distribution and the void probability function. The J descriptor allows to distinguish clustered (i.e. correlated) from ``regular'' (i.e. anti-correlated) point distributions. We outline the theoretical foundations of the method, perform tests with a Matern cluster process as an idealised model of galaxy clustering, and apply the descriptor to galaxies and loose groups in the Perseus-Pisces Survey. A comparison with mock-samples extracted from a mixed dark matter simulation shows that the J descriptor can be profitably used to constrain (in this case reject) viable models of cosmic structure formation.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-12-06 |