No Arabic abstract
We study the distribution of galaxies and galaxy clusters in a 10^deg x 6^deg field in the Aquarius region. In addition to 63 clusters in the literature, we have found 39 new candidate clusters using a matched-filter technique and a counts-in-cells analysis. From redshift measurements of galaxies in the direction of these cluster candidates, we present new mean redshifts for 31 previously unobserved clusters, while improved mean redshifts are presented for 35 other systems. About 45% of the projected density enhancements are due to the superposition of clusters and/or groups of galaxies along the line of sight, but we could confirm for 72% of the cases that the candidates are real physical associations similar to the ones classified as rich galaxy clusters. On the other hand, the contamination due to galaxies not belonging to any concentration or located only in small groups along the line of sight is ~ 10%. Using a percolation radius of 10 h^{-1} Mpc (spatial density contrast of about 10), we detect two superclusters of galaxies in Aquarius, at z = 0.086 and at z = 0.112, respectively with 5 and 14 clusters. The latter supercluster may represent a space overdensity of about 160 times the average cluster density as measured from the Abell et al. (1989) cluster catalog, and is possibly connected to a 40 h^{-1} Mpc filament from z ~ 0.11 to 0.14.
We use the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey data to compile catalogues of superclusters for the Northern and Southern regions of the 2dFGRS, altogether 543 superclusters at redshifts 0.009 < z < 0.2. We analyse methods of compiling supercluster catalogues and use results of the Millennium Simulation to investigate possible selection effects and errors. We find that the most effective method is the density field method using smoothing with an Epanechnikov kernel of radius 8 Mpc/h. We derive positions of the highest luminosity density peaks and find the most luminous cluster in the vicinity of the peak, this cluster is considered as the main cluster and its brightest galaxy the main galaxy of the supercluster. In catalogues we give equatorial coordinates and distances of superclusters as determined by positions of their main clusters. We also calculate the expected total luminosities of the superclusters.
We present a morphological study of the two richest superclusters from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (SCL126, the Sloan Great Wall, and SCL9, the Sculptor supercluster). We use Minkowski functionals, shapefinders, and galaxy group information to study the substructure of these superclusters as formed by different populations of galaxies. We compare the properties of grouped and isolated galaxies in the core region and in the outskirts of superclusters. The fourth Minkowski functional $V_3$ and the morphological signature $K_1$- $K_2$ show a crossover from low-density morphology (outskirts of supercluster) to high-density morphology (core of supercluster) at mass fraction $m_f approx 0.7$. The galaxy content and the morphology of the galaxy populations in supercluster cores and outskirts is different. The core regions contain a larger fraction of early type, red galaxies, and richer groups than the outskirts of superclusters. In the core and outskirt regions the fine structure of the two prominent superclusters as delineated by galaxies from different populations also differs. Our results suggest that both local (group/cluster) and global (supercluster) environments are important in forming galaxy morphologies and colors (and determining the star formation activity). The differences between the superclusters indicate that these superclusters have different evolutional histories (Abridged).
We investigate the dynamical state of superclusters in Lambda cold dark matter ($Lambda$CDM) cosmological models, where the density parameter $Omega_0=0.2-0.4$ and $sigma_8$ (the rms fluctuation on the $8h^{-1}$Mpc scale) is $0.7-0.9$. To study the nonlinear regime, we use N-body simulations. We define superclusters as maxima of the density field smoothed on the scale $R=10h^{-1}$Mpc. Smaller superclusters defined by the density field smoothed on the scale $R=5h^{-1}$Mpc are also investigated. We find the relations between the radially averaged peculiar velocity and the density contrast in the superclusters for different cosmological models. These relations can be used to estimate the dynamical state of a supercluster on the basis of its density contrast. In the simulations studied, all the superclusters defined with the $10h^{-1}$Mpc smoothing are expanding by the present epoch. Only a small fraction of the superclusters defined with $R=5h^{-1}$Mpc has already reached their turnaround radius and these superclusters have started to collapse. In the model with $Omega_0=0.3$ and $sigma_8=0.9$, the number density of objects which have started to collapse is $5 times 10^{-6}h^3$Mpc$^{-3}$. The results for superclusters in the N-body simulations are compared with the spherical collapse model. We find that the radial peculiar velocities in N-body simulations are systematically smaller than those predicted by the spherical collapse model ($sim 25$% for the $R=5h^{-1}$Mpc superclusters).
Aims. We investigate how properties of the ensemble of superclusters in the cosmic web evolve with time. Methods. We perform numerical simulations of the evolution of the cosmic web using the LambdaCDM model in box sizes L0 = 1024, 512, 256 Mpc/h. We find supercluster ensembles of models for four evolutionary stages, corresponding to the present epoch z = 0, and to redshifts z = 1, z = 3, and z = 10. We calculate fitness diameters of superclusters defined from volumes of superclusters divided to filling factors of over-density regions. Geometrical and fitness diameters of largest superclusters, and the number of superclusters as functions of the threshold density are used as percolation functions to describe geometrical properties of the ensemble of superclusters in the cosmic web. We calculate distributions of geometrical and fitness diameters and luminosities of superclusters, and follow time evolution of percolation functions and supercluster distributions. We compare percolation functions and supercluster distributions of models and samples of galaxies of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Results. Our analysis shows that fitness diameters of superclusters have a minimum at certain threshold density. Fitness diameters around minima almost do not change with time in co-moving coordinates. Numbers of superclusters have maxima which are approximately constant for all evolutionary epochs. Geometrical diameters of superclusters decrease during the evolution of the cosmic web; luminosities of superclusters increase during the evolution. Conclusions. Our study suggests that evolutionary changes occur inside dynamical volumes of superclusters. The stability of fitness diameters and numbers of superclusters during the evolution is an important property of the cosmic web.
We derive the luminosity and multiplicity functions of superclusters compiled for the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Data Release 4), and for three samples of simulated superclusters. We find for all supercluster samples Density Field (DF) clusters, which represent high-density peaks of the class of Abell clusters, and use median luminosities/masses of richness class 1 DF-clusters to calculate relative luminosity/mass functions. We show that the fraction of very luminous (massive) superclusters in real samples is more than tenfolds greater than in simulated samples. Superclusters are generated by large-scale density perturbations which evolve very slowly. The absence of very luminous superclusters in simulations can be explained either by non-proper treatment of large-scale perturbations, or by some yet unknown processes in the very early Universe.