Effective dark matter power spectra in $f(R)$ gravity

Using N-body simulations, we measure the power spectrum of the effective dark matter density field, which is defined through the modified Poisson equation in $f(R)$ cosmologies. We find that when compared to the conventional dark matter power spectrum, the effective power spectrum deviates more significantly from the $Lambda$CDM model. For models with $f_{R0}=-10^{-4}$, the deviation can exceed 150% while the deviation of the conventional matter power spectrum is less than 50%. Even for models with $f_{R0}=-10^{-6}$, for which the conventional matter power spectrum is very close to the $Lambda$CDM prediction, the effective power spectrum shows sizeable deviations. Our results indicate that traditional analyses based on the dark matter density field may seriously underestimate the impact of $f(R)$ gravity on galaxy clustering. We therefore suggest the use of the effective density field in such studies. In addition, based on our findings, we also discuss several possible methods of making use of the differences between the conventional and effective dark matter power spectra in $f(R)$ gravity to discriminate the theory from the $Lambda$CDM model.

Effective Dark Matter Halo catalog in $f(R)$ gravity

We introduce the idea of {it effective} dark matter halo catalog in $f(R)$ gravity, which is built using the {it effective} density field. Using a suite of high resolution N-body simulations, we find that the dynamical properties of halos, such as the distribution of density, velocity dispersion, specific angular momentum and spin, in the effective catalog of $f(R)$ gravity closely mimic those in the $Lambda$CDM model. Thus, when using effective halos, an $f(R)$ model can be viewed as a $Lambda$CDM model. This effective catalog therefore provides a convenient way for studying the baryonic physics, the galaxy halo occupation distribution and even semi-analytical galaxy formation in $f(R)$ cosmologies.

Revisiting the screening mechanism in $f(R)$ gravity

We reexamine the screening mechanism in $f(R)$ gravity using N-body simulations. By explicitly examining the relation between the extra scalar field $delta f_R$ and the gravitational potential $phi$ in the perturbed Universe, we find that the relation between these two fields plays an important role in understanding the screening mechanism. We show that the screening mechanism in $f(R)$ gravity depends mainly on the depth of the potential well, and find a useful condition for identifying unscreened halos in simulations. We also discuss the potential application of our results to real galaxy surveys.